Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!
by Sora788
Summary: Sora is a slacker and he decides to make wrong decisions causing him to fall on his face in life.He ends up getting into wrong things. Is this the Sora we know? Plz R&R!CHAPTER 7 IS UP!
1. Caught in Despair

My First Kingdom Hearts fanfic!! Well, i have decided to make this story into 6-7 books.  
-Book 1 - 2 will be about Sora.  
-Book 3 - 4 will be about Kairi  
-Book 5 - 6 will be about Riku  
:D Please review and tell me what you think about my story so far. Thanks!  
Lol, I began to write this story in my US History class while everyone else watched a boring movie. Funny how one writes in unusual places at unexpected times. I hope you all continue readiing and reviewing, it really helps. I don't mind constructive critism. No flames please. Anyhow, for these first six chapters I am going to revise them.

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

**Book One **

Chapter 1: Caught in Despair

_Oh God, how do I do this? This doesn't even make any sense! Why the heck didn't I study? Stupid test, what's the point in taking it anyways?_

Taking tests wasn't what 17-year-old Sora did best. It was a make up day for final exams at Destiny High. These were very important tests since they were worth one third of their grade. Everyone had been on time to take their tests yesterday, except for Sora. The seniors were out of school and were getting ready for college. Unfortunately for Sora, he was behind. And even worse, math was his weakest subject! He was all alone, by himself in the quiet room. Did he study for this very important test? No, no he didn't…but he should have!

_OK, calm down. I might be able to do this!_

Sora took a deep breath and exhaled tensely. Small drops of perspiration slithered down his soft face and slipped onto his chest. He felt hotter and his cheeks turned to a rosy shade of red. Usually, he was _never_ this tense on taking _any_ test. Realizing this, it worried him greatly.

_-24._

_Emma invested money at a bank three years ago. She signed up for a CD that paid 6 yearly interests, compounded semiannually. The interest is added to the balance and is accumulated with the original investment. At the end of three years, her account is worth 4,417.99. How much was her initial investment?_

**Tick, tick, tick!! **

_Ok, so if the CD was…no. If she had that much money after the interest, I would multiply…or divide? Whatever, I will chose D. _

_-25._

_There are three consecutive multiples of nine. The sum of the first two numbers is 2,853. What are the integers?_

**Tick, tick, tick…**

_What the heck are consecutive multiples? Um…should I subtract? _

**Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.**

The sound of the clock tormented his ears and each second accumulated pressure on the frustrated boy. An hour past by and poor Sora was still struggling. Sora's nervous face expression had not altered. He could barely grasp his no. 2 pencil or keep focus because he was too busy glaring at the devilish clock that hung sturdily above the classroom door; with each second disturbing him. When he finally decided to look at the fearsome test that lay uselessly before him, he was too late.

**Ding, ding, ding!!**

The school bell rang loudly in the empty school and echoed in Sora's mind. He was doomed…His teacher, Mrs. Dang (so they nicknamed here) walked rapidly to the small desk he sat in. Each step she took made him uneasy. Her dark brown eyes seemed harsh and stern as she watched him squirm.

"Time's up, Sora!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out.

"No! I need more time! Can I have twenty more minutes, please?" pleaded Sora with a

worried expression on his tired face.

Mrs. Dang wasn't the nicest teacher in the world, getting even a thirty second extension on _any_ test was quite impossible. "No!" was her harsh reply.

"Pleeeassseee??" begged Sora with his sweaty hands folded and trying to come up with more ways to get more time for himself.

"Sorry, Sora. You need to do the test within the time limit." She said with much impatience.

"Five minutes?" Sora questioned.

"Sora! Must I repeat myself?" she yelled, reaching for his test.

Before she was able to take his test away, he grabbed onto it and held it firmly. The test

was in the hands between his teacher and himself. After holding on, he replied, "Not if you give me more time!"

Getting upset and angry, she pulled the test and exclaimed, "Let go! Now!"

Refusing to give up, Sora tugged harder in order to get the test out of her hands and back into his possession. The force between the two was too much for the test and it tore in two, unbearable pieces. Mrs. Dang's blood boiled and her face had turned into a dreadful red shade. She held the two pieces and looked at Sora's regretful face.

"I am failing you!" she bellowed, pointing to the door. "Get out!"

"What!? But, I didn't do anything!" he cried.

"I said go!!" she had lost patience completely and wanted Sora out of her sight.

Unenthusiastically, he hoisted his black and navy blue back pack on his right shoulder and dragged his sorry self out of the room. The hallways were empty and all he heard were his loud footsteps.

"What am I going to tell Kairi now?" he muttered to himself as he continued walking towards the front entrance, passing by many lockers.

"This was my last chance to impress Kairi that I am good in school, and I took that chance and threw it right out the window…No! Wait, I took that chance and crumpled it into a ball and flushed it down the damn toilet right out into the sewers!"

Sora had a crush on Kairi, a long time best friend, since he was little. He wanted to prove himself and try to win Kairi's heart by impressing her. He was upset at his goofy mistake. He felt like going back in time and take that silly test all over. It was too late, and he couldn't do anything. Finally getting to the door, he opened it, allowing the cool breeze to blow against his warm face. He began walking when he heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Sora!" he heard an innocent, sweet voice calling out to him.

Turning around, he saw Kairi and Riku in the distance. They were his two best friends and they had been waiting forever for Sora to be done with that test. Hurriedly, he caught up to them.

"Hey guys! Thanks for waiting!" he greeted.

Kairi giggled and asked eagerly, "So, how was your test?"

Sora gulped. Staring at her engaging face, he thought about all the time and effort that she had willingly sacrificed for him so that he was well prepared for that exam. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to tell her the truth that he ended up getting a forced failure.

Thinking of a quick answer, he replied, "It was easy… I'm sure that I passed it!"

Excitedly, she gave him a sudden, friendly hug.

"I'm so happy for you! All those hours of helping you study paid off!" She rustled his spiky, brunet hair.

Forcing a chuckle, he answered, "Uh huh."

However, Riku suspected that something was wide off the mark. Since when was any test easy for Sora? The last time he checked, Sora never thought that any test was easy. He gave his best friend a skeptic look, and in return he received a taunting look from Sora. He didn't want anything to make Kairi think that he was lying to her. The trio began walking through neighborhoods to get to their homes. It had been a long day, and they all needed some time to chill.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" asked Kairi as they walked in a steady pace.

They were interrupted by a deafening honking noise. Sora glanced at the road and rolled his blue eyes after noticing who it was. Kairi gazed in disgust. Riding slowly next to them was Axel in his new yellow convertible. He snickered and laughed loudly.

"Look, it's the young and car-less!" saying that, he drove away blowing dust in their confused faces and honked his annoying horn continuously.

Getting angry, Sora yelled, "Shut up, who the hell do you think you are, you good for nothing piece of crap! Drive your sorry ass somewhere else!!"

Calming down, Sora faced his two friends and remarked angrily, "I hate that jerk."

"Maybe, you should just let it go…" suggested Kairi nodding her head slowly.

Halfheartedly, he agreed and did not say anything about Axel or his bad behavior. Everyone knew that whenever Sora got caught up in the moment, he couldn't be stopped. Turing 17 was a big change for Sora. He was excited that his birthday was around the corner and he wanted to show how much more "mature" he had become.

Focusing back on Kairi's question, Sora responded, "Let's go to the skateboard park!"

Disliking the idea, Kairi suggested doing something that they all were willing to do. Sora couldn't think of anything better, and Riku didn't mind what they did. Kairi stopped where she was and stomped her foot. "Oh no!" she exclaimed suddenly, "I forgot that I had to do some important errands for my mother! I'm sorry, but I have to leave you guys. I know, since summer vacation just started, we can spend some time together tomorrow! I promise!"

Saying that, she bid them good bye and turned the other direction. Sora sighed and continued walking with Riku. Out of hearing distance, Riku began talking to Sora. "So, what's up with the _lies,"_ he emphasized, "You didn't do well did you?"

Sora looked forward and folded his arms behind his hair. "Your point is? Besides, what did you want me to tell her?"

"Geez, I don't know, how about what really happened?" Riku pouted, he crossed him arms around his chest as his silver bangs bounced by his eyes with every step he took.

"Pfft."

The two took a turn at the corner and saw Riku's house in the distance. Riku took the keys out of this pocket and unlocked the door to his house. Sora eyed his actions, trying to remember something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Riku jerked the door open then they both set off to his bedroom.

"You want to play video games?" Riku suggested, taking out his game system from his closet.

"Sure!" agreed Sora, plopping himself onto Riku's neatly made bed. The two friends played _Kingdom of Hearts 3_ until dinner time. Glancing at his black watch, Sora decided it was time for him to go. "Well, I have to go now. I don't want my parents getting mad at me for not being home before dark" Sora chuckled and departed from his friend's house.

The warm evening breeze brushed against Sora's spikes, making them wave aimlessly in the air. He walked past large homes and playful children. Whistling to himself, Sora thought about the stressful day he had. Reaching his home, he observed that the house was dark and the driveway was empty. He walked up the doorstep and lazily turned the front door, the locked front door.

"Shoot! I left my house key in my bathroom!" Sora grunted at him clumsy mistake as he reached into his pockets searching for the key he needed. Carelessly, he dropped his bag to his side and sat down on the front porch. He glanced at his watch which read 6:25.

"Mom and Dad don't come home until 7:30!" Sora groaned and hung his head.

He knew what was coming for him. He knew that his parents would get very upset about Sora's irresponsibility. He was supposed to clean up his messy room and do some small chores everyday before his parents came home. They thought that it would teach him some 'responsibility'. However, for the past few months, Sora had not been successful in granting his parent's wishes, which made them worry even more.

Right now, his room was not clean and he hadn't started on those chores. If he couldn't get into his house, how was he supposed to do everything before their arrival? Frightening images exploded into his mind. His parents had become quite strict recently and they weren't going to buy any excuse that he would tell them. That's what they had been doing for the past few years, not watching out too much for him or stopping him from doing things that he should.

What was he to do? Frantically, Sora was thinking of every excuse to tell his parents, not to mention his failure of his test. He knew that his parents' heads would burst right off and they would probably send him to military school or do something bizarre.

_Let's not think the worst!!_

-End Chapter-


	2. Locked Outta Your Own House

Sorry for the late update! I hope you liked this chapter, please tell me what you think and leave a review! Thanks! btw, the people who have reviewed my story, thanks a million! Read the special thanks at the bottom too!

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

Chapter 2

_What do people do when they are helplessly locked out of their house?_

The first idea that occurred to him, was to see if the garage was open. Pacing himself towards the garage door, he started to pull it up. He heaved and pulled, but it would not budge. Opening a window came about to him next, for he unenthusiastically began walking around his large house; trying to open every ground-level window he saw.

However, each window was covered in dust and appeared as if they hadn't been opened in centuries. They were also shut down tight, making it a hassle for Sora's arms to open them. That reminded Sora, cleaning the windows was one of first things on his To Do list, along with cutting the overgrown lawn, cleaning his cluttered room, polishing the dusty furniture, and vacuuming the soiled carpets in the house.

"Ugh, I will clean these later…much later. Who would want to clean this anyways?" Sora remarked, with a look of repugnance on his face as he removed the dust from his fingers.

With no luck, he was back to where he started; locked out of his house with his household tasks not done. Giving up on the idea of opening a window to get inside, he lied down helplessly in his mother's beautiful rose garden in the backyard. Red, white, and pink roses of all shapes and sizes surrounded him as he gazed at the clear sky; on the verge of murder.

"I'm so doomed…AH, I HATE THIS SO MUCH!" he yelled, banging his fist hard, destroying a few roses that were in his way.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. He remembered that his bedroom window was left ajar, however, his room was on the second floor...Excitedly, he ran to where his bedroom was. All I need to do, is find a way to climb up here!, Sora thought while he looked high up at his bedroom window. I am going to use my mom's vines to help me do so since I don't have a ladder with me! His mother had grown beautiful Morning Glories around the house, unfortunately one was planted firmly just below Sora's window!

"Hmm, if I ruin this, I will just buy Mom some more…besides, I'm sure she won't even notice! She has so many of these stupid flowers everywhere!" he pondered, beginning to ascend the feeble plant. The fragile vines were not strong enough to hold Sora's weight, and as a result, he fell hard onto the ground.

**Thud! **

His head rested on the terrain, along with the rest of his body. "OK…wow, now what the hell was I thinking!?"

Why is this happening to me!, he thought gloomily, then closed his eyes in despair. I can't ask any of my neighbors to borrow their ladders because…they see me as a lying, cheater who manipulates people! Damn neighbors!

_I know!! Maybe I can break the front window with a big rock! Then I can get through and not have to deal with my parents!_

Apparently, his small mind could not think of any better solution to his pitiful dilemma. Searching the ground from where he lay, his flimsy hand started searching frantically for a good sized rock that would be able to break a window. Spotting one, he reached out and picked it up. Tossing it into his hands, he ran gaily to the front of his house. Targeting a window next to the entrance door, he gazed at the window that revealed his own reflection. Sounds of faint footsteps were heard nearby, distracting him. Ignoring it, he focused on aiming at his target, nevertheless the footsteps became louder with each fleeting moment. He hurled the heavy rock in his right hand, until a shrill voice stopped him.

"SORA!" cried a shrill voice behind him.

From the sudden outburst, he flinched a little bit, but quickly recovered from his shock. He stopped what he was doing, and through the window that he was looking at, he saw the reflection of one of his close friends, Tifa. Dropping the rock, he rushed towards the girl.

"What were you trying to do? Break into your own house?" Tifa questioned with great bewilderment. She placed her thin hands on her waist and stared at Sora with great misunderstanding with her dark brown eyes. A wide smile spread on his miserable face and flung his arms around her slim body.

"What brings you here? Anyways, I'm so glad you're here, now you can solve all my problems!" he exclaimed with joy, erupting with happiness.

"Well, I was walking in the neighborhood until I saw you trying to break into your own house! Ha, and I'm sure you have _problems!_", she exclaimed as she swayed her long black hair out of her face, "You look happy today…a little too happy, don't ya think?...I never saw you this happy since--"

Sora let go of her as he quickly interrupted her sentence, not wanting to hear what she was going to say. "Tifa, I need you to help me!" implored Sora with a touch of innocence.

Tifa looked skeptical. "Sure, but what would you like me to help you with?" After a few moments of thought, Sora spoke, placing his right hand under his chin. "My parents trust you right?"

She agreed, not liking where this was going. "Uh huh…" She crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain further. He began his story. "OK, well, I left my house key in my bathroom this morning before I left for school, so I'm locked out. I am supposed to clean my room and do some stupid chores here and there everyday before my parents come home--"

This time, Tifa cut him off. "So, you want me to lie to your parents, telling them something so that you can get off the hook, am I right? Then it would look like as if you were trying to do what they say…"

Sora snickered, "Yeah, you got it, but how did you know I was going to ask you to do that?" His companion chuckled, placing her hands on his spiky hair, "Sora, Sora, Sora… it's not that hard for me to figure you out!" Sora chuckled in agreement. Tifa and Sora had known each other since childhood, so it was easy for her to figure out how his mind works. They are practically like brother and sister and help each other from time to time.

"Give me a good reason as to why I should _lie_ to your parents so that _they_ could lose trust in **me**?" she argued, illusions of red and orange flames were seen in her angry eyes.

"Uh…C'mon!! You and I are tight like two pieces of paper glued together! I'm sure that you don't want anything bad to happen to me in these desperate times…right?"

"Why can't you just make something up that won't get either of us in trouble? I would've lied to them myself, but they wouldn't believe me, and I'm pretty sure that they'd believe you if you said something to them!" Sora rested his hands behind his gravity defying hair and smiled cleverly.

"As much as I would love to lie to them for you, I'm not going to!" she exclaimed as she continued to walk on the smooth sidewalk.

"What!" cried Sora with great perplexity. "Why not?!"

"Well, it's wrong, that's why! Besides, I don't think that it's worth losing your parents' trust. How about you just take responsibility for your own actions!" Tifa answered back and giving him a harsh look. Sora grasped her hand, preventing her from proceeding any further.

"Hold it…First off, you sound so cheesy! That's something my mother tells me all the time! Gosh…it's so irritating!"

Tifa let out a great sigh in annoyance. "You want me to help you?" Letting go of her petite hand and raising a fury eyebrow, he answered, "Yeah!"

"Alright, how about we wait for your parents to come home…" she recommended, pointing her index hand to the front porch steps. Comfortably sitting down, she began to get Sora to talk about his dilemma.

"I was just wondering…", she began, "if you did have the key with you right now, would you have really done what your mom has asked you to do?"

Sora glimpsed at Tifa's curious face for a split second before answering. "You're so _funny_, of course I wouldn't! I would've watched T.V. or something and then when they'd come home, I'd tell them some sort of excuse as to why I didn't do anything…"

When she heard his answer, she was shocked. Her face expression became gloomy and some what disappointed. This was obviously not the Sora she had known.

"You'd lie to them just because you're lazy!!" she exclaimed in disbelief, after a few moments of silence. "Listen, Sora, I think that you should stop lying like this because eventually…it will take you nowhere."

Sora grumbled, then mumbled under his breath, "Yeah right."

A pair of beaming head lights came into view, indicating that one of his parents were home. The dark blue sedan turned onto the driveway and the motor cut off. Whispering to Tifa, Sora asked, "My mom's here, what are you planning to do about my predicament?!"

In response to his inquiry, she murmured, "Just watch…"

Inside himself, Sora had a strong gut feeling that things wouldn't go the way he wanted it to. Sora waved to his mother, who was stepping out from her car and slammed the door shut. She was slightly shorter than him and had brunette colored hair just like his, but in a bun. Her blue eyes were anxious and her skin looked pale. Clearly, she was worried about something.

The tiresome mother approached the two, looking at her beloved son and Tifa. Smiling, she greeted, "Hello you two! How are things going?" She gave a warm welcome to Tifa and gave her son an affectionate hug.

"Sora told me that he had forgotten to take his key with him, and that's why he wasn't able to clean his room…but I'm sure that he is going to do so right now!" Tifa assured the weary mother and elbowed Sora vaguely.

"So I see…" his mother observed, giving her son a bothered look. "Well, thank you for trying to help out Sora here, it was worth a try. I know what he's up to." She forced a laugh and Tifa blushed in embarrassment.

"Alright…well I should be going now" saying that, Tifa waved good bye and was on her merry way. A look of satisfaction spread on her face. Silently, his mother fished around for her house key from her purse, then unlocked the door and stepped in. Sora followed carefully behind her with some distance.

Her hand searched for a switch on the creamy colored wall. Finding one, she flicked it, allowing light to illuminate the house. The house was well furnished and had great features, such as, multiple stairs, large rooms, an attractive kitchen, and a beautiful living room. Many pictures of Sora and family portraits hung firmly on the wall. Decoration pieces dangled everywhere as well. Her high heels made gruff sounds on the polished wood floor as she walked towards the kitchen. Believing that everything would be alright, Sora quietly began walking up the spiral stairs to get to his bedroom. "Not so fast, Sora! Come here, I want to talk to you", she cried from the kitchen.

Unwillingly, he began to drag himself down the stairs, through the warmly decorated foyer, and entered the tidy kitchen, where his mother was washing a couple of dirty dishes that lay helplessly in the sink. Her identical pair of blue eyes, met his fearful ones. "This isn't the first time you've done this…" she started.

Hastily, he took a seat at the spotless dinning table, not wanting to exist. Not hearing an answer to her statement, she continued. "You give me crazy excuses for not doing what you are asked to! I had enough of this same lame routine of yours! You have been doing this for the past eight months. It's the same thing over again…you tell me that you had to do something else, or that you _forgot your key_ so then you weren't able to…"

The rest of her 'pleasant' speech was lost by Sora. He wasn't paying the least bit of attention. He was too busy day dreaming, which he does time to time whenever anything or anyone didn't interest him.

_Ahhh…Tifa betrayed me, She called that __**help**__? That wasn't help at all. Now I have to get her back for that. What should I do? Should I replace her shampoo with food dye…nah, that wouldn't be 'rewarding' enough for her…what about sending another girl to catfight with her? No, that wouldn't work, Tifa is sure to beat the crap out of anyone who confronts her…_

He chuckled to himself quietly at the thought, while his poor mother continued yapping and lecturing, trying to fix some of his bad habits.

_I think I should break into her house and take some of her most expensive clothes and just rip them up, then lit them on fire right in front of her face…or maybe I can bring her pain by taking away her precious make up and crap. That would probably drive her up the wall…hehe. Besides, she uses gallons of mascara everyday and a whole lot of crap that-_

His day dreaming was interrupted by his mother, who suddenly sat next to him at the

table. "I just don't know what to do with you anymore!" she sighed, placing a plate of food in front of Sora. "You're dad is coming home late, so I figured that you would be hungry by the time he comes."

Sora nodded his head and began to eat the mouth-watering spaghetti that lay before him. Changing the subject abruptly, she asked, "How was your test today?"

Hearing the word 'test' made him shiver involuntarily. "It was OK…"

"Really? That's great! Maybe, you can feel more comfortable in college.", she mused.

"Sure…" he replied, quickly finishing his food, and chugging down his glass of ice cold water. Finishing his dinner, he got up and wearily waddled to his room. "Good night,

Mom!" he cried, halfway up the stairs.

Entering his untidy room, he slammed the door. The clothes that hung on the hook behind the door, fell onto the messy wooded floor. Videogames were thrown casually around the room. His chaotic bed leaned against his blue painted wall. The window was open, allowing a cool breeze to pass through the humid room. His closet was unorganized and was filled with garbage along with dirty laundry. Trash was tossed about and useless papers cluttered around his computer that rested steadily on his rigidly desk. Trying to get to his bed, he accidentally stepped on his skateboard, then stumbled and fell flat onto his face hard onto the unpolished wood floor.

_Ouch! What the hell?_

Mumbling to himself, he got up, then threw the black skateboard aside. It crashed with a loud _thump!_ The force left a decent sized dent in the wall. Walking slowly and groggily to his un-made bed, he crashed his whole tired body onto it, taking a deep breath and exhaling tensely. It was evident that he was exhausted from his disastrous day. The blue covers laid underneath him and his cream colored pillow sagged beneath him. His cell phone beeped, indicating a text message from one of his friends. Reaching into his pocket of his baggy pants, he flipped his silver cell phone.

"_Hey, Sora! Meet me and Riku in the mall after work tomorrow -Kairi_!"

After reading the message from Kairi, he tossed his phone on his desk and mused over the stressful day he had. Why didn't Mom yell at me tonight? Usually she explodes for everything little thing I do wrong, he thought with much curiosity, but…she did look really sad.

"I need something to take all this damn stress away", he chuckled to himself. He reached into one of his pockets of his pants, taking out a box of cigarettes. He looked at them, wondering if he should smoke or not. Opening the small tab, he gazed at how many he had left. "One...two…three…. I have five cigarettes left." he mused. "I should get some more tomorrow."

Changing his mind of smoking, he put the small box carefully back into his pocket; wanting to save the stash he had. Instead, he reached down under the bed, his hand touching every object until he felt a cold and dusty glass bottle of an alcoholic drink. Taking out a miniature bottle of Vodka from under his bed, he popped the cap open with his finger and gulped the contents within a few minutes. Drops of the dreadful drink slid down the sides his mouth and landed directly against his black shirt. He threw the vacant bottle back under his bed, where many more empty bottles lay.

"Note to self…throw away the evidence…" he laughed quietly to himself, partly drunk. Dizziness and numbness took over his body. After ten minutes, he wasn't able to think straight and a wave of depression fell on him; the effects from the alcohol.

"Stubid Kaiwi…she's so goddamn h-h-hard to impress. 'Sorwa, w-w-why don't you do this or that' B-BLAH, BLAH, BLAH! That gurl is getting on my f-f-freakin' nerves! She sucks h-h-hell." he said softly to himself, not realizing what he was saying or the pronunciation of his words. "Dumb test….why do she like guys who s-s-study anyways? That is so s-s-stupid. I hate that…"

Suddenly, his stomach began to hurt immensely, for he held his stomach and winced greatly. A weird feeling began to rise inside of him. Putting his other hand to his mouth, he quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he lifted the toilet lid and threw up. Ugh, he thought, looking at the vomit that swam around in the toilet water. He flushed it quickly to get the unpleasant scene out of his sight.

Lying back in bed, he began breathing heavily, with great difficulty. Calming down, he began to feel drowsy. He began to think about his mother's reaction to his unreliability, which left him profoundly puzzled. Not able to find the answer to his question, he fell into a deep slumber. Sweet, dreamy images of Kairi came into his sleeping mind, causing him to wear a warm smile as he slept comfortably.

--xxx--

**Ding dong!**

The sound of the door bell made Sora's mother get up from the table to open it. When she opened the door, she was troubled: there stood her husband, drawn and tired. His brunette colored hair was rustled up, his green eyes looked angry, and he looked bothered. He looked agitated from the folded paper he held in his hands. She guessed this had something to do with Sora because he handed her the paper with great difficulty as he stepped inside the house. "Hi, Honey!" she greeted, giving him a light kiss on the cheek,

"What's this?"

"Hello Dear…" he responded. "I got it from my fax machine at work…Read it, it's about the teacher's phone call I received earlier today."

"Oh no…Sora…why?" she said quietly, as she closed the door shut. The couple sat down together in their living room to have a long discussion about their misguided son.

Hesitantly, she unfolded the paper that she gripped firmly. Scanning through the rush of the printed words, her worried expression became angry.

"Summer school?! He needs to go to summer school already! School just ended today!" she was astonished, "And all for failing the exam?"

Her husband nodded slowly and sighed greatly, "I talked to his teacher. He failed it because he didn't really…finish it, then trying to get more time…it ended up getting torn!"

"What?" she could not believe what she was hearing. "Why would she rip his test?"

"She didn't. She told me that Sora had! I don't know what to do. We have to talk with the

principal this Sunday to see what options we have", he stated, with a tone of anger and

frustration.

Covering her stressed face with her worn-out hands, she sighed greatly. Standing up, he shouted after ten minutes of no conversation, "I'm tired of our stupid son! Why can't he do anything right?"

A few tears trickled down her face, not liking to words her husband spoke. "Please…we can fix this…"

Not listening, he continued, "No! That's why you've been saying for the past for years! Nothing's changing! Do you remember what I told you a few months ago? That's exactly what I am going to do to him!"

Keeping her cool, she responded, "I…I guess you're right." She broke down into great sobs. "Do we really have to?"

Calming down somewhat, he sat down next to his wife. He replied, "I'm sorry for yelling. I just lost my patience! He's just not changing. It's probably because he doesn't know what can happen to him if he doesn't patch up now."

After a few moments of thought, he suggested, "How about this, we give him three more chances. If he screws up three times from now on within the next…year or so, we will do what I wanted to do to him!"

"Hmm, alright. But I think that what you are thinking to do is a bit harsh.", she remarked.

"No, no it's not. Trust me. I know that will fix him." he answered back with great confidence. "If it fixed me, it will surely do the same for him!"

-End Chapter-

Thank you for reading!! Sorry if there wasn't too much happening, but there will be a lot later on. LOL, o-m-g, Sora is on drugs and he's an alcohoic!! How dumb is Sora? What were his parents talking about when that they have a way of fixing their son? You will find out in the next chapters! Please review!

**Special Thanks to: brenu, Lina-Baggins, Kita Ito, animeadmirer, b-nothing, Insomiak, oblivion's pen, SorasKey, Neptunes angel, Lady Keika, Kingdom Hearts Lover, goku33339, Ice Miko, soraloveskairi159, Rie Kuecotsu, BellaLicious814, aModestMouse, and Lokelani87 for their wonderful, spectacular reviews! I appreciate it very much! Please read their stories as well! XD **


	3. Confused Much?

Hiya Everyonee!! So sorry for the late late update, but Ch3 is finally here!! Please note the special thanks at the bottom, thank you very much for inspiring me to write more!! I would very much like to help you as well, so please send me a PM and tell me your stories that you would like me to read/review--i would be more than happy do to so! You guys deserve it!! Please tell me what you think so far XD.

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

Chapter 3

_**Beep, beep, beep! –8:00 a.m., Saturday**_

_Stupid alarm clock…stupid day…stupid job…_

A chill came over him as he removed the teal colored covers off his body. He flung off his t-shirt and jeans and threw them carelessly onto the floor. Grabbing a clean towel and his work uniform, from his disgusting closet, he headed for the shower. The luke-warm water ran down his body as he shampooed his spiky hair and washed his body. The steam floated around him, while the soapy water drained from the bathtub. Dripping wet, Sora wrapped the towel around himself and stepped out, the excess water falling onto the tile floor.

He stood before the sink and stared at his reflection through the foggy mirror. He saw his reflection; a reflection of a boy who looked tired, yet eager. Involuntarily, he smiled. Quickly drying himself off, he put on his work clothes, which consisted of a red cashier outfit. Scanning through his bathroom cabinet for his favorite cologne, he sprayed some on himself and was almost ready to go. Squeezing out a decent amount of hair gel onto his hands, he applied it to his spikes so that they don't sag later on in the day. He snickered at himself and said, "I'm one good-looking cashier!"

_Ew, I'm a cashier!_

The thought wiped the smile right off his face and frowned instead. Sora worked for a local comic book store as a cashier for the past year. He didn't liked his job too much, but he did it for the salary. His manager was a pretty, young woman who adored him, but got irritated whenever he didn't do his job right. At times, he would place the wrong items in the wrong place, or put the wrong prices for the wrong item. Also, whenever shipments were to be delivered, he was almost never there to sign the papers for then. Because of that, everything would be shipped back to where it came from-very annoying and irresponsible.

Sora stepped out from the steaming bathroom and entered his bedroom again. He picked up his watch from his desk and fastened it on tightly around his wrist. Tossing clothes and junk desperately aside, he finally found what he was looking for: his black converse chucks. Slipping them on, he tied them hastily as he ran a comb through his tangled hair, then grabbed his cell phone. He wobbled down the stairs, making loud footstep noises after himself.

"Good morning, Dear" his mother greeted, ascending the stairs as well. "Leaving so soon? Don't you want to eat something first? "

Looking behind him, Sora answered, "No thank you, Mom."

"Well, come back soon. I want to talk to you about a letter we got from your school" a

note of sadness was in her voice. "You might not be able to graduate from high school.

We are going to have to go see your principle—"

"I don't want to get late!" Sora rudely interrupted. He took off, slamming the door behind him with a bang!

A small ball bounced into Sora's hands unexpectedly as he was walking his way to work. He looked up and saw a seven year old boy standing a few feet away from him. It was his neighbor's son, Denzel.

"Uh…this yours?" Sora questioned, tossing the ball into the air and catching it back into his hands.

"Yeah, can I have it back?" the young boy said with great anxiousness, looking away from Sora.

_Wait a sec...I recognize that kid!_ Sora said to himself, studying the kid's face. _He was the one who stole, then used my hair gel! I wasn't able to go outside in public for days with all my hair troubles! _

"You want it?" Sora noticed a truck coming on the side of the road. Stepping closer to the kid, he reached out the ball to him. Right when the truck came by closer, Sora quickly threw the ball in its path before the kid was able to grab his belonging.

**POP!!**

The ball was no more. All that was left was the rubber. "What did you do that for!" Denzel exclaimed angrily.

"That's what you get for stealing my stuff…" Sora answered back calmly. He pushed the boy slightly out of his way and continued walking.

"I'm going to tell on you!" he cried. "I'm going to tell Tifa!"

Tifa, he thought. What would he tell her about something like this?

Stopping where he was, Sora turned around to face the kid. "Yeah, why would you tell her?"

"She's my baby sitter. She can beat you up." He said with great confidence, it even frightened Sora a little bit.

Humph, he's just a stupid kid what do I have to worry about? He thought to himself as he began to walk.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU, SORA! JUST WATCH!" the neighborhood boy screamed back.

Turning a corner, he got out of sight. He feebly brushed away the fear of getting the heat from Tifa. Apparently, he had forgotten about her babysitting most of the neighborhood children. She absolutely adored them, and wouldn't let any one of them get hurt-not even by him. After walking another fifteen minutes through the quiet and lonely neighborhood, Sora reached his destination. Above the store, the words 'Beyond Comics', in yellow and blue, were seen.

Pushing the door open, the shiny bells hung above the door clanged together, indicating that someone had entered the store. "Sora?! Is that you?" cried his manager from the storage room.

"Uh huh" he mumbled, getting behind the counter in the shop, for he was the only cashier.

A few moments later, a tall woman walked briskly out of the back room. In her hand, a ring of keys dangled on her finger. She tossed them at Sora when he wasn't paying the slightest attention. The pair of keys landed in Sora's hands.

"I want you to lock up tonight. Alright? I need to go to my sister's house right now for her wedding and I'll be back by Wednesday hopefully," she said, standing on the other side of Sora.

A look of surprise came over his face. "What!? Why? Well, I can't."

The woman sighed greatly before returning his comment. "I told you two days ago. It's not my fault that you don't listen to me…Take care of this place until I come back-or else!" Saying that, she left the building slamming the door behind her.

Sora looked quite aggravated. He rolled his eyes and began to think about the plans for the rest of his day. Kairi and Riku wanted to meet him at the mall, but how could he do that if he had to stay at the store for the whole day? Or…is he?

"Hell, I'm ditching this place. I'm not going to spend the rest of my damn life here today," his voice echoed into the vacant store. Placing his palms onto the counter, he lifted himself up, and swung around to the other side. Slowly, he walked to the door, but hesitated before leaving.

Without another thought, he pushed the door open and left. However, one thing he did forget was to _lock the door._ Even more stupid of him, he left the keys on the counter. Pacing himself carefully, he reached into his pant pockets and grabbed his cell phone. He flipped it open and speed dialed Riku.

**Ring, Ring, Ring. **

"Hello?" greeted a voice on the other line.

"Hey, Riku. I'm coming to the mall now. Where are you?" Sora mumbled, as he continued walking in his slow pace.

"I'm at home, where I usually am", he chuckled, then continued. "I'll tell Kairi and we'll meet you there soon. But, it's only 9:20 a.m., I thought that you were at work! We were kinda planning to go in the afternoon."

"Yeah, well I'm taking a break from work today or 'til Wednesday. Just meet me there now." He began to get annoyed with the conversation.

A very familiar noise came from behind Sora. The sound of tires and an engine filled the air. Sora didn't have to look back to see who it was, oh no. He knew something was coming. Something terrible. Without saying goodbye to Riku, he hung up quickly and shoved his phone back into his pocket. The sound of the engine got louder and louder as Sora's pace quickened by the second, but it was too late.

"Still walking I see…" His attention was averted to the road.

Axel.

"I guess I care more about the environment than some _people_. I'm not really in the mood of polluting the world at the moment." Sora stated nervously, his voice trembling slightly. He kept looking straight ahead of him, instead of his enemy.

Axel was began to drive at the same speed as Sora's pace. He looked animated as usual. "What are you? Some environment scientist?" he asked sarcastically.

Sora gulped, but his face expression did not change.

"Get in." Axel demanded as he halted his car. Sora stopped walking. Thoughts quickly rushed through his head.

Thoughts of fear. "I need to go somewhere right now."

"Just get in the damn car." Axel sounded irritated. "I'll drive you to where you need to go."

Sora knew exactly where this was going, he just didn't want to deal with it. "You're willing to drive me to the mall?" He felt that having Axel drive him would be faster than walking.

"Sure…whatever" Axel's hands were on the steering wheel, ready to go. Opening the side door of his car, Sora hopped in and slammed the door shut. As soon as that happened, Axel hit on the gas pedal real hard, and began driving at a dangerous speed. The wind moved Sora's hair in all directions, as Axel's black coat flapped around violently.

Noticing Sora's work clothes, Axel remarked, "What the hell are you wearing?"

Embarrassed, his face turned a slight pinkish color. "Oh, well I was coming from work…"

"Lame."

The two rode in silence for a few moments until Axel broke the peace. "I want my money _now._"

Money? He's almost forgot about that. "Uh…for what?"

"Stop playing stupid! I gave _you_ my stuff and now you owe me 77!" Axel's voice sounded stern. The 'stuff' that he was referring to was for the alcohol and cigarettes. Axel had been giving Sora these things since he wasn't able to buy it on his own.

"I will give it to you soon, don't worry." Sora replied, with great doubt in his voice.

"You're the one who got me hooked onto it in the first place!" He slumped into his seat.

"I should've never listened to you. I am addicted to the dumb drugs and crap, and it makes me sick—emotionally and physically."

"If you have a job, I'm sure you can pay me!" he replied, glancing at Sora's work clothes.

"And who said you had to listen to me anyhow? _You _came to _me_ for help. I said that this would help and you took it—the drugs and all. Stupid people do what others tell them to do. You're one of those stupid people."

"Listen…how about me make a deal of some sort so that I can pay you have of what I owe you now!" Sora was trying his very best to reduce the cost as much as he could. He wanted to save all the money he had, besides, he didn't have that much on him. "I'm not going to buy anything from you anymore."

"You know what I really want?" he asked, his voice filled with mystery.

"No what?" Sora replied, not believing that they were having his conversation in the first place. "Stop changing the subject…it's annoying."

"I want you to get me a date with Tifa, sometime tonight or tomorrow." Axel was blushing a great deal when he mentioned the girl's name.

Surprised, Sora asked, "A _date_ with Tifa? Why? You like her or something…Wow, I didn't know that."

"Are you gonna hook me up or not? If you do, I will cut half the amount of money you owe me." Axel was on the edge of hope. Gradually, he decreased the speed of his car.

"What makes you think that I will get you a date with her? She doesn't even like you. I mean, why would _any_ girl in the right state of mind want to go on a date with _you_?" Sora was getting on Axel's last nerves with all the insults that he was giving, for he began driving faster now.

He clutched onto the steering wheel even harder. "I know that you are good friends with her, now just do it! If not, I'm going to be on your case every single day of your pathetic, sad life."

Sora didn't want to make his friend go on a date with someone that she didn't like, but he just didn't have the money to pay Axel back. If he didn't, he knew that greater trouble would come to him; he couldn't think about it.

"Alright. I'll try to make it work. But, there's one slight problem" Sora replied. He looked directly at his companion's face.

"What?" a touch of despair was heard in his response.

"She likes _someone else._" Sora answered back, with a huge smirk on his face. He waited for a chance to get him worried. "Cloud Strife."

The sound of Cloud's name made Axel twitch. Anger gradually filled him as he pretended not to care.

_**Screech.**_

The car jolted in a complete stop as Axel pressed on the breaks with great force; it almost propelled Sora out of his seat. "We're here." Axel said. "Promise me that you'll do your end of the bargain."

He placed a hand on under his chin and rested it on the car door beside him. He looked the opposite way of Sora and was in deep thought.

"I…I…" Sora hesitated. He didn't know what do say.

"Promise me!" snarled Axel.

"I...I...promise."

"Wait, before you go, does she still like that Cloud guy?" Axel wondered.

"Er-I don't know." Sora said pathetically.

Sora raised his brow a little, he felt somewhat guilty of making him feel bad. He looked at the entrance of the mall, where people were gathered around. Grabbing onto the handle, he pushed the door open and stepped out. Then, slamming the door again, he began walking towards the entrance. The sound of a roaring engine was heard, signifying that Axel had left. Getting a date with Tifa wasn't an easy thing to do, but Sora had to make it happen if he didn't want anymore trouble. Just thinking about that made him miserable; his mood changed completely from eagerness to being gloomy.

--xxx--

Inside the spacious mall, people crowded the stores; sounds of laughter and talking could be hear. Everyone apparently was in a happy mood. Scanning the crowd, he found Riku drinking cappuccino from a foam cup while leaning against the wall of an Urban Outfitters clothes store. "Hello, Sora!", Riku greeted gaily.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora asked quickly. He slid down against the wall and sat miserably on the floor beside Riku. He held his head with his hands and frowned.

Noticing Sora's depressing behavior, he asked, "Are you OK? Cause you look as if something really bad has happened to you…"

No answer. Sora just starred at the floor and glanced occasionally at people who walked by him.

"Uh..." Riku started, he didn't know what to do to make his friend speak up. "Kairi is just shopping around for a dress to wear for the graduation party."

After knowing that Kairi wasn't around, he finally began to tell his problem. "I made a hell of a huge mistake..."

"What kind of a mistake?" he replied back. "I can help you any way I can if you need it." Good old Riku, offering to help out his friend in times of need.

"Axel and I made a deal", Sora said in almost a whisper, "I have to get him on a date with Tifa."

Laughter. Riku almost dropped his drink because he was laughing so hard. Sora shot him a stern glance, which automatically shut him up. "Sorry, I didn't think that you were actually serious."

"I wish I wasn't. Thing is, Tifa _hates_ Axel. How can I make someone who _hates _someone else even go on a lousy date with that person if they _hate _them!", his words began to sound like gibberish because he was talking too fast.

"You kinda confused me there." Riku said. "Why would you be even talking to that freak?!"

Sora remained quiet once again and began drumming his fingertips on the floor; a bad habit of his. "Don't worry about why I made this deal, just help me out. I even made a promise to that jerk. I don't know how I am even gonna do this."

Riku pushed aside his questions and began thinking. "You can trick her. But, she's your friend and that just wouldn't be right—right?"

Tricking her, yeah that's an idea. But, how? Sora had to think this one over. His thinking was interrupted by the sight of Kairi. She walked towards her two best friends, carrying a shopping bag in one hand. Sora forgotten all his troubles and right away got up. He gave her a friendly smile when she caught up with them.

"Hi, Sora!" she greeted hastily, " I'm so glad that you were able to come! The graduation party's coming up real soon, so I wanted to get a beautiful dress!"

With a forced chuckle, he sighed, "I can't wait for it either…" He reached out to get a preview of the dress that she had bought, but wasn't able to do so. Kairi brushed his hand away and exclaimed, "You're going to have to wait and see when I wear it!"

"So, why are we even here exactly?" Riku pondered, drinking the last of his cappuccino.

"I wanted to get a new dress, of course, and I also wanted to have a nice conversation with the two of you and, you know, catch up on things." Kairi said. Looking around, she spotted an empty table for five across from where they stood. Squeezing through groups of people, she seated herself and gestured her friends to do the same.

"Isn't this what girls do?", whispered Sora to Riku, as the two paced themselves slowly.

"Talk about their lives, feelings, and whatnot?"

Riku leaned towards him and answered, "Yeah. I'm afraid so."

Silently, each pulled a chair and took a seat. Kairi placed her bag beside her and started the talk. "I'm so glad that we are out of school! So, have you guys thought about what colleges you are going to go to?"

Riku was the first to reply. "I'm thinking about going to some community college and then go to a good university, then pick it up from there. I haven't really decided what I really want to do in life."

"What about you, Sora?" Kairi averted her attention to him. She noticed his far away look. When he didn't answer her, she spoke up a little louder for him to hear. "WHAT ABOUT YOU, SO-RA?"

"Oh uh, I…don't know." Sora replied. He drummed his hands onto the table top and looked around for somewhere else to go.

Talking about his life was something he didn't want to do. Small drops of perspiration ran down from his forehead to the side of his face. With one hand, he wiped it off. He didn't know why he was sweating, but he did feel uncomfortable for some reason.

Discarding his remark, she announced, "I am going to take singing lessons so that I could become a professional singer."

Both, Sora and Riku, looked unsurprised at her. Kairi had loved to sing since she was a little girl and she had an excellent voice.

"I think that's a fitting profession for you, Kairi. You sing well.", Riku added, "You even have fun performing in front of people."

"Thanks!" Kairi exclaimed with glee. "I have an idea that I really want you guys to help me follow through. But, before that, I have so much to tell you."

When Riku and Sora didn't say anything, she continued. "I don't even know where to begin. I am going to Paris, France for the summer vacation and while I'm there, I am planning to go to be looking for some job opportunities!! And, I want the both of you to come with me!"

Riku liked the idea and exclaimed, "Wow, Kairi! I've never been to France before. Thanks for inviting us, I'll let you know if I can come or not."

"Same here, I will tell you soon." Sora stated. However, he knew in his heart that he didn't have the money for plane tickets, hotel expenses, and such. He had barely any money, and he knew that his parents wouldn't lend him any. He was too scared to find

out.

Riku interrupted her train of thoughts, "Is it really necessary to go all the way to _France?_"

It took a few moments for her to answer.

"Yes, yes it is. And you want to know why?"

Both, Riku and Sora gave her a funny look and nodded their heads slowly. "First off, France is a very romantic place, I want to go there before I get really busy with my studies. Second, I think that there are good singing opportunities there. Destiny Islands is just not a place to start a singing career in. You know what I'm saying?" Kairi sounded confident with every word she spoke. Her heart was set, she wanted to be a famous singer in her life. "Third, we may not be able to see each other often when we all go to different colleges. I want to make the time we have to be special."

"Hmm…But what if you don't find what you want over there? Then what?" Riku questioned. He didn't want his friend's hope to be too high. What were the odds of an unknown girl being noticed in an unfamiliar place? From beneath the table, Sora kicked Riku hard in his shin.

"Stop being so negative, Riku!!" He didn't want Kairi to postpone her trip. Going to France with her was something he really wanted to do—his heart was pounding for it.

"You didn't have to do _that_!" Riku whispered as he sat back, placing his hand over his leg where it hurt.

"I don't know what I am going to get there, but I am going to give it a shot." Kairi smiled.

It was settled. Kairi was going to go to France to get a singing career started. Riku was going to go to college and find his interests there. Sora, on the other hand, wasn't sure exactly what path he was going to take.

The trip to France was going to be a week or so after the graduation party. Riku was going to get ready to go with Kairi. Sora had to think of a way to get the money to go and also find out if his parents are OK with the plan.

For the rest of the afternoon, the trio spent their time window shopping. They went to many stores of interest and had a great time. Kairi bought new shoes and matching jewelry for her dress, while Riku and Sora didn't buy anything in particular.

When it was time to depart, Riku accepted Sora's offer to come to his house for the rest of the day. They bid their goodbyes to Kairi and headed off in different directions. Kairi went to her friends house while Sora and Riku walked to Sora's house.

"Are you going to ask Kairi to the graduation dance?" Riku pondered randomly. A shade of bright pink appeared on Sora's face.

"Wh-wh-what? Why would you ask me that?" Sora began to get nervous. His voice was shaking when he spoke and he kept biting his lower lip.

"I ask because if you _don't_ then _someone_ else will!!" Riku responded in a daunting voice.

No, that could not be. Sora disregarded the dreadful thought quickly. The last thing he wanted was for someone to take his place at the dance with Kairi. He wanted to be the one to be with her. "I-I-I'll ask when I get a chance…and what makes you think that she will say yes to someone else?" Sora asked anxiously.

"What makes you think that she won't?" Riku fought back. "I'm sure that she doesn't want to go alone…"

"Hold up-do you know anyone that's going to ask her?" Sora pouted, a worried expression came on his face.

"Nope." Riku replied simply. Sora gulped and refused to believe this possibility.

However, he didn't know himself if Kairi wanted to even go with him and even worse, he didn't know if she thought of him as only a friend. He didn't want to think about it anymore, so he suddenly changed the topic.

"Remember what I promised Axel?" Sora recalled back. His friend nodded, with no interest.

"I have a plan." Sora said to Riku. "And you're going to help me!"

A confused look came across his companion's face. "Help you? For…?"

"To get Axel a date with Tifa!!" Sora exclaimed. "My plan is perfect—sort of!" Riku glanced at his hopeless friend, and forced a smile with great difficulty.

"Yay…" he sighed sarcastically. "Another Sora idea."

-End Chapter-

Thanks a million for reading!! Please tell me what you think! I would love to hear from you! lol, Sora needs to make better decisions. Chapter 4 will be up soon--its gonna be about Tifa on a date with the wrong guy! oh no! lolz. Also, more about Sora's drug obsession coming up!!

**Special Thanks to:**** skyland41, brenu, Roxasora225, Lina-Baggins, Kita Ito, animeadmirer, b-nothing, Insomiak, oblivion's pen, SorasKey, Neptunes angel, Lady Keika, Kingdom Hearts Lover, goku33339, Ice Miko, soraloveskairi159, Rie Kuecotsu, BellaLicious814, aModestMouse, Lokelani87, InterestinglyPsychotic, Harry Scotter, RoxasTheOther, KaoruChanXD, Soraskey, LetUrimaginationRunWild,ShadowKnight47, wae416, Thelonepickle, Haku, Frozen Fate, Sharingan Uchiha Avenger, Inspire-Illuminate, allaroundbetterthanyou, panda-luver, ultima master94, niguala, nupinoop296, Edward's Sweetheart,ProfessorHojotheGEN-I-US, neon6, Aros-Cyansong, Riku191, Jub, kuza, KHmaster0000, Tyler and Ryxlet, Vogue Addiction, Ray the Keyblade master, .Girl.Siren., gothtoph10, MelodiouNocturneGirl, Lady, Alionae, Dark Pocholate, and Amaya-Admired,** **for their wonderful, spectacular reviews!**


	4. All Goes Wrong

So sorry for the late update. Thanks a lot for waiting. It would mean so much to me if you review. It's so encouraging :  
Hope you like my story. I promise you, it will get better as the story progresses!!

**Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!**

Chapter 4 

"Sora, why are we here?" Riku asked his friend with great curiosity as the two stood in front of a small, dainty home before them. After hearing Sora's "fool proof" plan, he was quite nervous on how it would all work out. Most of the time, Riku was dragged into Sora's crazy schemes. This, unfortunately, would be one of them.

Sora mumbled under his breath, "Don't you remember the whole Tifa-Aerith-Cloud triangle? I'm pretty sure that Cloud may have written some love letters to her, even to Tifa. If we get one of those love letters, then we can edit it to give to Tifa, telling her that Cloud is going to go to her house tonight maybe. She'll fall for it, then bam! Axel gets Tifa and off my back."

"I don't get it. Why can't we fake a letter?" Riku pondered over the possibilities. He liked doing things the easy way instead of making everything so complicated like his friend tends to do.

Sora sighed. He didn't like to explain certain things over and over again for it to make perfect sense for other people. "We need Cloud's signature, without it, she'll know it'll be fake." He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to let them in. No one came.

This time, Riku rang the doorbell again and knocked loudly on the red door. A few moments, a tall and pretty woman flung the door open. "Hello Sora! Riku! Come on it, so sorry it took me so long."

She stepped aside and the two entered her cozy home. Aerith lead them to the kitchen, where she was cooking, and asked them to have a seat at her dinning table.

"You're just in time for lunch!" Aerith exclaimed gaily, taking out three plates from the cupboard and setting them before her friends. She then hovered over the stove, finishing whatever she was cooking. Sora and Riku exchanged confused glances. They were not expecting Aerith to give them lunch, in fact, they didn't want to stay for lunch.

"Uh…Aerith, that won't be necessary! We just wanted to ask a favor from you."

"Please. You must stay. I'd hate to send you home hungry. We can chat while we're eating" Aerith poured the rice and chicken from the pots into a glass container and placed it with the plates on the table. Sora hit his head with his hand and felt like banging his head on the table. Aerith had not even asked them their reason for visiting, she just forced them to eat with her.

Reluctantly, the two dumped food on their plates and began shoving it down their throats.

"So, Sora, tell me what is it that you came for?" Aerith began, eyeing them closely.

"I…was wondering, if you had any letters written by Cloud?" Sora asked with and note of hope in his voice. Aerith stopped eating, gradually bringing her fork down to her plate. A look of anger came over her attractive face. "Why would you want that?"

Riku sensed disaster on the way. He gave Sora the "this-isn't-working-out-let's-go-now" look, but Sora didn't care. He wasn't going to leave until he got what he came for.

"Umm, we need it for an important reason. We just need one." Sora assured, praying she would co-operate with him. "I can't really tell you why…"

To their surprise, the girl broke down. "Why did he have to leave _me_ for Tifa?! It's not fair, I thought we had something special!! It's just not fair!" Tears streamed down her face and dripped onto her lap.

Sora leaned towards Riku and whispered in his ear, "Can you go upstairs and try to look for them by any chance?"

"I'm not going to do that! Why don't you do it!" Riku whispered back with frustration.

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Please!"

"NO!"

"I'm begging you!"

"Ugh, fine…gosh."

"I can't believe he'd do something like that to me!" The heart-broken girl sobbed as she watched at the two bicker silently.

"Yeah, I don't know." Sora got up from his seat and walked over to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Please stop crying, he isn't worth it."

Aerith dried her tears with a napkin and cooled down somewhat. Looking up at Sora, she said. "I'm sorry. I cannot give you the letters."

"Are you sure? If he doesn't talk to you anyway, what's the point of keeping the old ones?" She went back to crying on the table at his unneeded remark. To her understanding, Cloud had left her for Tifa a few years ago. Cloud had always written letters to her when he was away looking for his dark side, Sephorith, until one day, he wrote to her saying that it was 'over'.

Since Sora knew this had happened, he thought that maybe he could forge a letter to Tifa saying that 'Cloud' wanted to take her out for dinner somewhere, when it would actually be Axel coming to her house instead of Cloud himself. Under pressure, Tifa may go with Axel when she sees him at her door instead of Cloud…sounds logical enough? To Sora, it made all the 'sense' in the world. He was the one who had gotten himself in his odd predicament, so it was up to him to try to fix it.

Riku waited for his chance to go upstairs into her room. He casually got up from his chair and quietly passed by Aerith. Quickly going into her room, he began opening drawers frantically searching for what they needed. His dung into a small drawer from her dresser, felt something and pulled it out. He wore a disgusted expression as he looked at what he held: a piece of red lingerie.

"It's definitely not in _there_!" he tossed the underwear back it it's original place. He had almost given up until a thought came to mind. He walked over to her bedside table and pulled at the bottom drawers. Nothing but books. Tossing them to the side, he spotted a bundle of papers held together tightly fastened with string.

A smile reached his face, was this what he was searching for? He untied the package and sorted what he had: loose papers, folded envelopes, and some dried flowers. Taking an envelope, he carefully opened it, not wanting to ruin it. His eyes scanned the paper to see if it was suitable for what Sora wanted to do with it. Tucking it in his pocket, he hastily put everything back together and closed the drawer, then went back to the kitchen to meet Sora. Riku saw Sora trying his best to calm down the heartbroken girl, who was still crying her heart out.

"Come on, Sora," he whispered from behind.

"Well, I'm sorry for all of this. Riku and I will be going now—" Sora said to Aerith, who did not show any signs of quieting down. Leaving the distraught girl to cry her worries away, the two snuck out of the house.

"Ok…that was strange." Sora said bluntly, heading away from the house. "I can't believe that went completely wrong."

Riku rolled his aquamarine eyes in disbelief and chuckled. "You expected _that_ to go well?! That is probably the lamest plan you ever came up with, Sora! Regardless, I went in her room and got what you wanted." Pulling out a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans, he handed it to Sora.

"What! You mean you got it!" His eyes widened, taking the item from Riku. Reading the letter, he smiled. "This is perfect!! Yes, yes, yes! Let's go to the Kinkos, that paper store place, now!"

"_Your welcome" _Riku emphasized, watching his best friend run of. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he followed. Upon entering the store, Sora thought of how he was going to make an edited version of the letter.

"What's this for, Sora?" Riku asked as he watched his friend taking a bottle of white out from the counter and handing it to him.

"I want you to take out Aerith's name and the date with that. Then I'm going to find a really good pen to write in Tifa's name and the current date. Then, we'll run it through the copy machine and print it out using a similar paper used for the letter. So hurry up, I'll be right back." Saying that, Sora went in search of the needed items.

Riku sighed. He didn't think that this would work at all. In fact, he didn't understand what was happening at all to begin with. Since he wanted to help out his friend, he slowly uncapped the bottle to reveal the small brush attached to the cap, then began painting over the unnecessary words. When he had finished, he reached for the bottle to recap it, but by mistake he knocked it over the piece of stationary. A huge puddle of whiteout soaked the fragile paper, the liquid traveled all the way to the other end of the letter.

"So how's it going?" Sora called from behind him. Biting his lip, he stepped aside to show the damage that had been done.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Sora yelled. He dropped the pen and paper that he held in his hand and rushed to the letter. It was ruined. Whiteout completely covered it top to bottom. The words that had once been written were now perished and blurry. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spill it. I just wasn't looking where I was—" Riku tried his best to explain the problem, but Sora didn't bother to understand. He was to furious with all the trouble they had gone through to get this far.

"Do you see what you did? Look!" Sora grabbed the letter and smacked right onto Riku's face. The whiteout that had once been on the letter, was now all over Riku's face.

Peeling the paper off of his face, he used it to wipe the mess from him, then crushed it into a ball and threw it on the counter beside them.

"I don't know why I bother to help you anyways…" Riku's eyes remained emotionless, he walked out. Sora stood where he was, not understanding what he had done.

_What did I do? But, he deserved it right?_

His thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone ringing. "Hello?"

"Sora, did you ask--" Axel's voice on the other line was filled with anxiousness. "Uh. Well, no. But--", he mumbled trembling slightly. "You have tomorrow to do so, and that's it. Got it memorized?"

**Click.**

The hope that once lived inside him, had just shattered. Deciding to think of doing something about his problem tomorrow, he reluctantly returned home.

"Sora! You're home! Hurry up, we have to go to your school right now!" His mother's faint voice bellowed from her room when she heard the front door open. She appeared on the stairs and stared down at her son. "Are you alright, you look upset?"

"Let's just go." He removed his work apron and tossed it onto the floor. Sora headed for his mother's car and sat comfortably in the back seat while his mother sat in the driver's seat. "Why are we going to my school?" His hand traveled to his pocket to retrieve his ipod to drain out the rest of the world.

"We have a conference with you're principal. It was supposed to be on Wednesday, but we rescheduled it. Your dad was supposed to come, but he couldn't," she mentioned as she turned a corner.

"Ok" Worrying about the trouble he had caused earlier didn't bother him, he was used to things like that. Besides, his heart felt guilty and sorry for what he did to his best friend.

--xxx--xxx--xxx--xxx--

Sora was asked to sit in the chair outside the principle's office while his mom alone would talk to her first. The volume on his ipod was on full volume. His eyes were closed, head laid back in his chair, and he breath slowly as he waited patiently. The office door opened as his mother summoned him.

"She'd like to talk to you now, Sora." Unwillingly, he sat in the chair that his mother pointed at, then she left. "So…"

"Hello Sora!" greeted the optimistic principle who was nicknamed 'Ms. Torture' without her knowing. Sora glanced at her then out the window where thin strands of sunlight entered the room.

"What are you looking at?" She peered over to the window as well, then bore her stern brown eyes into his blue ones.

"Nothing."

Her high heels softly clunked against the scarlet colored carpet as she approached the window and took an occasional glance at Sora. "Do you care about passing high school? Or, rather where do you see yourself in life?"

"Sure…I guess. I don't know." Sora still had his earphones on with the music volume lower.

Her face worsened as she spotted the wire dangling from his left ear. "Take those off!" she snapped, "Listen when I am talking to you!"

Letting out a depressed sigh, he slowly removed the telltale earphones from his ears and shoved them his jean pocket. Sitting back in her chair, she leaned forward and embraced her hands together.

"I have decided to send you to boarding school – all boys boarding school - this summer. You can get your needed credits from there…since without them, you are endangered to repeating the twelfth grade. Now, do you want that?"

"I don't want to go to an all boys boarding school. I'm _not_ going." His voice changed from a dull tone to being annoyed.

"I have talked to your mother about it and she agreed on the idea as well. If you rather stay in high school for another year-"

"It's worst than summer school!!" Sora complained. "Going to a school with _just_ guys and no girls is like a love movie without all the sappy love-romance!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that when you were busy not graduating! And stop whining. You are going to go within the next week or two. So pack your bags because you will be there for the whole summer." The unmerciful principle leaned back into her chair as a smile formed on her face. Getting up roughly, he slammed the door behind him as he departed.

A grin appeared on her face as he left the room defeated.

--xxx--xxx--xxx--xxx--

It was silent as the Sora and his mother ate dinner together. The TV was turned off and all that could be heard was the occasional sound of a car passing by. "Mom, are you mad at me?"

No answer.

"Kairi wanted me to go to France with her for some singing thing that she wants to pursue. So can I go?" He was hoping that his mother would say 'yes' so that he could have a chance to spend time with Kairi.

"You're not going anywhere." Her disappointed eyes could not look at her corrupted son.

"Please! It's only going to be for a little bit. I can go to that nuthouse place when I come back!"

"Sora I said no! You don't deserve to go anywhere unless you straighten up!" She rose, getting ready to leave him. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

_It's not fair. _

He was alone at the dinner table. The sound of his father's car arriving made him go to his bedroom. Thinking about the scolding from his other parent rested in his mind as he sat on the floor of his bedroom. His father's muffled conversation between him and his mother could be heard clearly to Sora. Eavesdropping maybe?

"I don't think you should kick him out of our house as you were suggesting earlier!" his mom countered.

"Why not? It would have helped. I was once like him and my parents did that to me. Look at where I am now…"

Sora's heart sank in deeply. His _father,_ his own father wanted to kick him out? Getting upset, Sora slammed his door hard, making some of the posters on his wall sway. Sora only hung his head low at the remark.

"My dad hates me" was what Sora whispered, getting into his bed. The music from his ipod drained out his surroundings, soothing him as he fell asleep.

-End Chapter-

Did you like it? Did you? Please review!! I know that not too much happened in this chapter, but I have something special in mind for the future! Thank you so much to all of my reviewers, you guys are my enouragement!!  
Poor Sora, he has to go to an all boys school- no girls, no Kairi!! What's he going to do now?! Stay tuned!!

-Sora788


	5. Forgive Me

This isn't a very long chapter, but that was sort of the intention lolz. Hope you like it. Please review. I think that people are losing interest in this story (sobs) Gah!!

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

Chapter 5

"Boarding school?" Roxas asked in surprise as he placed his skateboard down on the dark pavement. "What did you do?"

Hopping onto his black skateboard, Sora murmured, "I failed school or something, it's not that big of a deal."

Roxas, his close cousin, was one of the people that Sora felt comfortable talking to. Since he lived in Twilight Town, he had to take the train to come to him. That 500 munny for the ticket better be worth it because he doesn't have that much money left with him. And obviously, his parents are smart enough not to just give it to him any.

The two were alone at the skate park in Twilight Town. "Well, I guess it's good for you. No girls, no distractions. Right?" Roxas clasped his helmet together over his pointed light-colored hair.

"Shut up your face," Sora advised, chuckling forcefully. "I don't want to be too far away from Kairi. What if she finds someone else?"

"You don't even know if she likes you, Sora. So just let it go," he suggested as he did an ollie .

"How about you ask Riku if she likes you…"

"Riku—" Sora thought about what he did to his friend the previous day. "He's mad at me right now I think and I'm still mad at him."

"Sora, you're a fool. He's your friend, whatever happened, I'm sure it can be resolved." His cousin began to skate circles around him.

Sora stood in the middle, whirling around to Roxas. "What should I do?"

"You could apologize to him. What happened anyways?" Roxas turned to Sora, halting his board to a complete stop.

"Oh…nothing much." He refused to show how much of a bad tempered jerk he was, didn't want to admit it either.

"How come you aren't at work?" Roxas eyed his cousin suspiciously. "Don't you work at that comic book place?"

"I'm off for now, or until Wednesday." Sora lazily followed his cousin. "Kairi wants me to join some silly band of hers. You want to be in it too?"

"A band?" a brow furrowed up on Roxas' face. "I guess I can play something."

Sora smiled, "Thanks. I don't know why Kairi's all over this idea, but if it makes her

happy. I was hoping you can take my place since I am going to be gone for the summer."

"When are you going to talk to Riku?"

"What do you mean me? I think that we are going to talk to him together!!" Sora dreaded the thought of facing his friend by himself. Sorta dumb, right?! He was afraid of what Riku might say to him, or turn his apology down.

"Why do I have to come with you? I don't see the point at all!" Roxas grunted as he hoisted his board behind his head.

"No! You're coming with me and I don't care what you say!" Sora gripped his cousin's wrist tightly and broke into a run, heading for Riku's house to ask for forgiveness.

--xxx--

Saying sorry wasn't an easy thing for Sora to say, that is, if he meant it. His little episode with Riku yesterday had him wondering just why the heck did he do something so stupid.

It wasn't Riku's fault that he by mistake spilled whiteout all over the letter, or maybe it was. Not too far away, Sora found Riku sitting on his doorstep scribbling something in a notebook of his. Beside him was his companion. Sora squinted his eyes to make out the boy's face. It was Denzel! Wait, what? Denzel? What is he doing sitting next to Riku?

_What the hell!?_

"What you doing there, Riku?" Sora waved feebly, with Roxas reluctantly trailing behind, and placed himself beside Riku, with Denzel by his side.

He peered over at the notebook, trying to read what was written, but before he could get a proper glimpse, Riku had already closed it.

"Don't read that." Riku clamored, glaring angrily at Sora. "I didn't know you where into poetry!" Sora noticed the style that Riku had wrote in and came to the conclusion that Riku wrote poems. A shock to him? Perhaps.

"So what?" he encountered, trying not to turn red from embarrassment.

"Ew, it's Sora! I hate you!" Denzel insulted with a tone of hatred in his voice.

"Shut up kid!" Sora spat back harshly. Denzel backed behind Riku and remained silent.

"Listen I'm really sor-sor-sorr" His words stumbled over each other, it felt like it was hard to get just two simple syllables out of his mouth that say 'sorry'.

Sora tried again. "I'm really sor-sor."

No use. Roxas punched Sora's back real hard so that he could stop sounding like a broken record. The words popped right out, about time it did!! "I'm _sorry_!" Sora blurted at the moment Roxas hit him.

Riku didn't say anything, he was quiet, thinking about if Sora really meant it or not. After a moment or so, he forgave him. Something so small just couldn't ruin their friendship. It plainly wasn't worth it. "Nah. It's fine. Don't worry too much about it."

It was as if a heavy load had just lifted off of Sora's shoulders. He said sorry; with help sadly, his friend forgave him, it was all good. "Thanks. I wasn't thinking."

"No problem. I helped you out with your dilemma anyways though. Denzel helped too."

"What? How?" He couldn't believe that Riku decided to help him out even though they were mad each other. What are best friends for? Riku is the kinda guy whose always there for his friends no matter what happens. But, how_ did_ Riku help Sora out?

"I asked Denzel to tell Tifa that Cloud will come tonight at seven-ish and take her out to dinner somewhere or whatever. Since she trusts Denzel, I think she believed him. I promised Denzel that if he did this, then I would take him to my father's house."

"Your father's house? What for? Isn't this your house right here?" Sora pointed at the house behind them. "And isn't your dad living in it?"

"No, my parents are divorced. I didn't tell you, or anyone really, that I live in two different homes. My dad lives in a larger house far, but not too far from here.

My dad's rich, so I told Denzel that he can come over and play at my house with my things or whatever." Riku couldn't help but to suppress a smile. He loved playing with children, well, depends on who they are. "Denzel told me what you did to his ball, so I thought that I could cheer him up."

All this time, Denzel had not spoken a word after Sora had told him to 'shut up', he was busy reading the poems that Riku had in his book. He admired Riku's writing talent, his words expressed what he felt through whatever he was going through. Most of his poems where about his loneliness, or how he longed for someone he could feel close to. A bit personal? Suppose. Not too many people know about his dark, lonely side. Yet, he looked like nothing was wrong. Or was there something even wrong?

"Roxas joined the band that Kairi made up." Sora added in. "He's gonna take my place for a while."

"Really? How come?" he questioned "I thought that you—"

Roxas interrupted him, "Sora boy here is going to an all boys boarding school for the summer because he's too stupid for school. He didn't want to let Kairi-wairi down, so he asked me--OW!" Sora nudged him hard on his arm to shut up. Roxas placed a hand over the sore spot and refrained from uttering another word about the matter.

They didn't have to say more than what they had already said. Riku understood what and how it all happened. In his heart, he felt slightly blameworthy. _He_ was the one who was aware of Sora's bad habits, _he_ was the one who knew that what Sora was doing wasn't the 'way to go', and lastly, he felt that he could have simply been a better friend. The only thing that he may not know about Sora was his 'addiction' to drugs and alcohol. If he found out, he'd be crushed more than he is now. It wasn't easy for him to see his best friend suffer.

"I hope all goes well with you, Sora. Maybe after this you can stop hurting yourself!" Riku cracked.

"What do you mean I ruined myself? I didn't ruin myself!!" Sora countered. Apparently, he's in denial because if he can't see what he's doing and doesn't want to admit it, then this all boy boarding school better work!

**Honk! **

Riku's father had just arrived and stopped his Mercedes at the side of the curb. Pssh, show off…Out of all the cars he owns, he had to bring his Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren_._

"Do you guys want to come with us?" Riku asked politely, shooting a glance at the two.

"It's no problem. Roxas can come too."

"Sure, why not?" Sora and Roxas agreed. "I'm not really going to be doing anything anyways."

--xxx--

"Axel, everything's all set for you." Sora spoke into his cell phone to Axel in a bush near Tifa's home, hoping that all would follow through.

"Finally you do something right!" Axel replied gleefully. "I'll be right over."

Sora ended the conversation and looked through his binoculars in the murky night to see what Tifa was doing. Riku and Roxas were huddled next to him in behind the prickly bush as well.

"He's coming soon. Are you sure that Denzel told Tifa that 'Cloud' was coming tonight?" Sora pondered worriedly. If something went wrong, who knows what psycho Axel will do to him.

"Yeah I'm sure. He told her to dress all fancy and whatnot. Can you see her?" Riku scanned through the windows for any sign of the girl.

"Up there!" Roxas pointed a finger at a window on the upper level of the house. "There she is spraying perfume on herself – how sad, getting all worked up for a loser. I think she fell for your scheme!!"

"Good. Now all we have to do is watch--AH!" Sora felt a sharp pain formed on his forearm. There were several pointy thorns attached to his arms that were clashing with the spiky bushes in front of him. A thin trail of blood ran down his skin, a patch of scars were left on his skin also.

"You ok?" Riku turned his arm around to see what had happened.

Ignoring the pain, Sora assured easily lowering his binoculars, "I'm fine."

Approximately forty-five minutes has gone by and still no sign of Axel. "I guess Tifa got stood up" Roxas laughed at his joke and stifled a yawn. Sora glanced at his watch, it was already a quarter past seven.

"That fool better show up!" Sora bellowed madly. "I'm wasting my time here!"

Riku noticed a car approaching in the drive way. "Shh! Look I think it's him!" The trio hushed themselves, watching attentively from their hiding spot.

"Wait, what happened to his car?!" Riku stared in awe at the car that Axel was getting out from. "And what did he do to himself?"

Axel's yellow convertible was now colored a rosy red shade. It also looked as if it had on a fresh coat of wax. As for Axel, he had on one of his expensive suits: a black tux and tie. His bright red hair was actually brushed and a whole lot of sheen. Well, that's something you don't see everyday.

"Whoa, look at that red-headed moron. He looks weirder than he ever did…He doesn't even look good!" Roxas commented, shaking his head in disbelief. "I feel bad for Tifa. You people hooked her up with a playa!"

Riku hit him in the back of his head with his hand and whispered quietly, "Enough with your trash talk. Now be quiet before he hears us!"

Axel took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He held a bouquet of attractive pink roses in one hand and a small white box, wrapped in a golden ribbon, in the other. He rang the doorbell nervously with an unsteady hand.

The front door creaked open within seconds revealing Tifa as she stood before him in a beautiful sapphire dress that was cut a little below her knees. Her diamond earrings glistened and her pendant glowered in the crisp night. Her dark hair flowed with the faint breeze and her eyes gleamed delightfully, gazing at the stranger.

-End Chapter-

Yeah, kinda short, but the next chapter is just going to be about Axel and Tifa :D Hope you like my story so far! Please review!! Thanks to all who did, much thanks!!

-Sora788


	6. Blind Date

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update. I hope you guys like this chapter, please review it means a lot to me :D Axel and Tifa's date, wonder what will happen.

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

Chapter 6

Axel gulped in the night air and with difficulty as he tried to say hi. Didn't think that it would be so hard for a guy like him to do so. "H-h-hi!" He quickly handed her the roses and the box because he didn't know what else to do after that. Inexperience.

Tifa was dumbfounded, this wasn't Cloud at all. Not a chance. Cloud didn't have blazing ruby hair, or jade colored diamond shapes underneath his eyes. "Sorry, but I didn't call for a magician or…a clown. Bye!" Hurriedly she slammed the door, but Axel held it back. Smooth…

"Wait, I think that you have mistaken me!"

"Yeah, Axel, you're defiantly not Cloud and I am waiting for him." She refused to believe that Axel was here for her instead of Cloud. That's not what Tommy told her. Did she waste her time for this?

"I don't think that Cloud will be coming here for a hell of a long time now, and I would hate to tell myself that I came to you for nothing!" He hissed with a tone of angry, but a touch of anxiousness. "So will you please?"

Giving a hand out to her, he waited to see what her reaction would be. Having Tifa freak out wasn't what he had in mind. Evidently, he wasn't going to give up now because he stood firmly at her doorstep. Nice Axel, creep the girl out with your stubbornness, that will make her want to come with you even more now.

The heartbroken girl frowned at Axel sadly. She knew that Cloud wouldn't be coming after all. Hurting Axel's feelings wasn't going to help anything either. "Since you're out now and I'm all dressed up, I guess we can go somewhere…"

She interlocked her hand with his, a smile came across his face. Axel led her to his polished car and opened the door for her. Hesitantly, she seated herself as Axel got in from the other side. "You like the car?" he asked with eagerness.

No answer.

"That went well!" Sora remarked, standing up from hiding. He watched the car go until the back lights were specks from the distance.

Roxas yawned loudly, flinging his arms around making Riku irritated. "Stop that!" Riku hollered as he lowered his friend's arms down.

"That was the so boring!" Roxas complained, not liking the fact that Sora dragged him with them. "So you think that she'd be back?"

"I doubt it!" Riku replied shrugging carelessly.

Chuckling, Roxas said, "I couldn't agree more."

"Of course she will!" Sora opposed, "What makes you think she won't?" If Tifa didn't come back, what would happen? Sora thought it better not to think about such things.

"Let's go back to my house. I bet I can beat the both of you on my new Playstation 3!", exclaimed Riku.

"No you can't!", argued Roxas. "I'm better than you!"

"Well let us see shall we!" Riku cried. "You're just a loser and you don't want to admit it!"

--xxx--

The two had ridden in complete silence for the first twenty minutes of the drive. Axel's emerald eyes were glued to the road steadily while Tifa twisted a lock of hair around her finger tensely. Breaking the quietness, Axel commented on her clothes. "I like you're dress." Stupid thing to say, could have told her something else, but no. He just had to say the obvious.

"Thanks", she muttered, glancing at him for a moment. "Where are we going anyhow?" Might as well find out where the guy is taking you, don't want any _further_ surprises.

"Castle Oblivion", was his straightforward answer. "I thought that we can hang out at my place."

Of all the places in the world, why Castle Oblivion? Why not a fancy dinner or something? Axel, Axel, Axel…what are we to do with you?

"Oh" Tifa sighed, she didn't want to go to his house, let alone have dinner with him. Noticing the radio, she turned the dial for music to pass time away. This was no fun. The only thing in her heart was Cloud. Not Axel, not Castle Oblivion, just Cloud.

"Here we are!" Axel pulled his car over to the curb in the gloomy atmosphere. Tifa

climbed out and observed her surroundings.

_Ew, this place is a dump. _

Green fog and mist engulfed the awkward building. A bizarre 'dimension' drifted behind it while a freezing breeze rushed by. "What do you think?" Axel nudged her slightly and grinned. To him, the place was perfect. To her, well, not so much.

"Err, it's…romantic!" Of course it wasn't, there was nothing romantic about it. She faked a smile, then when he turned forward, that smile faded away.

_Where am I? I want to go home!!_

Axel lead her to the old, pallid castle and to the dining room. A large dining table with fourteen elegant chairs were in the middle of the spacious room, covered with velvet place mats. Axel tried to be a 'gentleman' and pulled a chair for her and sat beside her.

"Demyx!", he hollered for his voice to be heard. "C'mon, we're here!"

Slouching back in her chair, she sighed heavily, in a rude way actually. Suddenly, a tall man came in dressed in a waiters outfit. Demyx's indigo hair looked neat and his face looked warming as he held a pitcher and two long glasses.

"Hello Tifa! Would you like some water?" Without waiting for an answer, he poured crystal clear water into a long vase-like wineglass and handed it to her gently.

Axel rolled his eyes and shook his head for Demyx to see. "Oh, I'm sorry, let me take that

back. I think champagne would be better." He snatched the glass back and hastened back to the kitchen.

Forging a laugh, he stated, "That Demyx, he's a klutz, always thinking about water! He plays some water sitar thing, so I think the water went to his head."

"I see." The night couldn't have been any more boring than it was now. Demyx entered the room again, this time with two glasses of sparkling wine. "Here you go!"

He set two long and skinny identical crème colored candles on top of the velvet table cloth and fumbled with matches to light them. "Let me do it!" Axel brushed Demyx's hands away and snapped. A flicker of light appeared from his finger, slowly lighting the candles by himself, hoping to impress Tifa.

"This is a, a large table for two people, don't you think?" Tifa crossed her arms and waited for an answer, ignoring the fact that Axel could play with fire without getting

burnt.

"That's because there are twelve people living here." Demyx replied, setting a few more plates in front. "Here they come now!"

A crowd of ten more people, all dressed alike in black robes, filed in taking a seat with the couple. Axel shot Demyx a dirty look and yanked him to his side by his blue tie, almost choking him. "What are they doing here?! Didn't you tell them to _not_ be here tonight?"

The clumsy boy bit his lip in regret. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell!"

Grunting, Axel watched unenthusiastically as his housemates sat with them for dinner. Vexen, number four of the group, noticed Tifa. "Axel! Whose you're friend there?" He edged closer to the two, wanting to get a better look at the new comer.

"Back off, Vexen!" Axel growled under his breath as he pushed him away. Shrugging, Vexen took a seat across from them.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Axel? Don't be rude now!" Saix remarked, sitting next to Vexen and Xigbar.

"Yes, Axel, please explain to me why this girl is here before me? What is her reason to be here?" Xemnas, the Superior, questioned with unfriendly eyes.

"Let's make her do all the chores instead of me!" Larxene, number twelve, suggested fervently, who loitered by him. "I'm tired of doing everything by myself!"

Xemnas gave her the 'shut-up-and-sit-down' look, not liking her ideas. He took the seat at the far end of the table, the chair assigned to him and him only. He crossed his fingers, waiting for Axel to talk.

"You see, she's here for…dinner…I invited her myself!" Axel hoped that Xemnas would concur with him, but the Superior was already occupied with Demyx's attire.

"What are you wearing and why?" Zexion, number six, asked amusingly as he looked at Demyx top to bottom. He couldn't refrain from laughing his ass off.

"What?! Axel made me wear this dumb thing. He said that he couldn't afford going to a restaurant somewhere, so he asked me to look like a waiter and I…" Demyx stopped talking when Axel jabbed his arm. "Stop talking dim-wit!"

Tifa giggled at the stupidity she was witnessing. Twelve people living in a large castle doing the most stupidest things made her laugh. "If it's a burden, I don't mind leaving!"

She began to hoist herself up, but Axel held her wrist firmly and tugged her down violently. "NO! You're not a burden, just stay where you are!"

Taken aback, Tifa stayed put. She could have beaten up Axel with a breeze since he was shoving her around, but she chose not to. Why cause drama? Twelve against one wouldn't be pleasant. Besides, why would she want to corrupt her gorgeous blue dress for these loons? She figured the faster she goes along with the charade, she'd be back in her home watching sad soap operas about men who left their loved ones as she waited for Cloud.

Marluxia, number eleven, sat close to her. "I'm Marluxia. What's yours?"

"Tifa Lockheart."

He pulled a creamy pink rose out of thin air and offered it to her. "This is for you!" He winked at her slickly and put on the best smile he could ever give. He fastened his eyes into her brown ones, not looking away for a second.

Taking the flower, she thanked him. "It's pretty!" She took note of it's peculiar features. It wasn't an ordinary rose, it gave off an enchanting radiance and had a pleasing aroma.

Axel snatched the rose from Tifa's hold and set it on fire within a second, then he threw it aggressively on the marble floor. He stamped on his as hard as he could with his shoe.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Jealousy arose inside him. He didn't want 'expert' Marluxia getting Tifa's attention.

Tifa gaped in astonishment. "Axel! Stop that! A sweet rose gone to waste! It was so beautiful!"

"Pipe down woman! I had bought you a whole bouquet of perfect roses! Be happy with that!" Axel pointed an accusing finger at her madly. Pushing it aside, Tifa opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. This man couldn't get any more ruder…or could he?

--xxx--

Sora watched his two friends exchange insults at each other as they played their game console. He fumbled with his shoelace as he sat on Riku's king sized bed. When Riku said that his father was rich, he wasn't kidding.

They were loaded, had about everything he ever wanted to have. A swimming pool in the backyard with a tennis and basketball court beside it, a great house with every room mega sized, white marble floors, plasma screens, and more. He couldn't believe that Riku never bothered telling him. Was he not worthy enough to know? Whatever it was, it hassled Sora a bit.

"Sora, you want a try?" Riku asked gleefully for he had just beaten Roxas in a racing game. His cousin sat on the floor, dealing with defeat.

"Nah. I'm fine. Thanks"

"What?" Roxas got up. "You never turn down a chance to play!" He stood in front of his

cousin, face-to-face.

"I was just thinking…about Kairi." Sora bit his lip at his friend's reactions.

Riku rolled his eyes and diverted his attention to the screen, mouthing the words 'Here we go again'. Roxas grunted loudly and threw a pillow at Sora, aiming at his head. "No, not that. Anything, anything but that!"

"Huh?" Sora looked a tad bit confused. He raised an eye brow and held onto the pillow that had just been thrown at him. "What ya mean, 'not that'?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because you're always fretting about some stupid girl that couldn't care less about you!" Roxas replied angrily.

"No I don't!"

"Yeah you do!"

"How would you know!"

"Because you're always yapping about her!" Roxas laughed aloud as he mocked Kairi.

"Oh look at me, I'm Kairi! I don't like Sora and I never will!" He fluttered his eye lashes and fiddled with a blonde strand of hair.

"Roxas, give it a rest." Riku chuckled, glaring at Sora; he didn't look too happy to see his friends getting annoyed by him. Did he really talk to them about Kairi that often? No, he couldn't. That's not what he thought.

"What's on your mind, Sora?" Riku paused his game and lied down onto his bed. "What is it about Kairi that's bugging you?" Even though he didn't like discussing about the girl that he_ may_ like, he didn't want to ignore his friend.

"That dumb dance is coming soon and I haven't asked Kairi to it yet" Sora said in a low tone, for Roxas to not hear. He was still mocking Kairi from across the room.

"Oh…" Riku didn't know what to say. "Maybe you should tonight?"

Sora gulped, "Are you crazy I'm not going to do that!" Roxas came over and laughed in Sora's face. "You're never going to get a girl. Just admit it!"

Placing a hand under his chin, Sora thought deeply to himself. "How about I practice asking Kairi by one of you posing as her?"

Roxas was the first to volunteer as Kairi. "I'll be Kairi!" He brought about his own cell phone and waited for Sora to get his out. Stepping back, he stayed still until Sora opened his phone.

_Here I go._

"Ring, ring, ring" Sora imitated the phone as he stared at Roxas looking at himself in the mirror that hung loosely on the door. "I said 'Ring, ring, ring!'"

In a very high-pitched girly voice, Roxas spoke into his phone. "Hello?" He pretended to put on an imaginary lip gloss as he talked, glaring at his reflection.

Rolling his eyes, Sora talked back. "Hey Kairi! It's Sora."

"Oh my God! Sora?! No way!" he exclaimed in his girly tone. "Hold on!"

Roxas made a pretend phone with his free hand and squealed, "Naminé, Olette, Selphie! Sora is on the other line! Isn't he so fine? He's like the hottest thing I have ever seen in my life! Ok bye!"

Sora's mouth was open wide, not understanding the craziness he was witnessing. Roxas switched to his cell phone and resumed the imitation. "So, Sora, what did you want to talk about?" Roxas paced himself across the room and to one of the open windows as he peered over at the dim lighted pool in the backyard.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" Sure, it was easy to ask the fake 'Kairi' the question, but would he be able to ask her in person? "I would really like for you to go with me."

Roxas snorted inappropriately. "Of course not! I am going with Roxas. Sorry!" Roxas closed his phone, turned around and smiled at Sora joyfully.

"Idiot. You're useless…" Sighing disappointedly, Sora threw his shoe at his cousin, but missed.

--xxx--

"Let me introduce you to everyone since bone-headed Axel won't do it!" Marluxia stood up and pointed to each person as he said their name. He started with Xemnas, the Superior of the group. "That's Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexeaus, Zexion, Saix, bipolar Axel, Luxord, sexy me, and Larxene. Together, we're known as Organization XIII"

He sat back down, feeling worthy of himself, as if he had done something so accomplishing. Tifa acknowledged each greeting and gesture that every person gave her.

"I think you should be called Organization Dozen" Tifa took a sip of her drink and stared at the empty seat at the table. "There are only twelve of you."

"Oh…Roxas. He left us. He _was_ Number Thirteen." Axel answered immediately, before Marluxia could speak.

A wave of astonishment came across her. She didn't know Roxas personally, but she never thought that he was a part of an organization, especially this crappy one. She felt relived that he left them.

Demyx served them all dinner the moment things began to settle down. The dinner was all home-made, made by his two hands. It wasn't very tasty when Tifa took a bite into her steak and whatever else was on the plate, things she couldn't tell what in the world it was. Over burnt, dull, and bland. The aftertaste remained in her throat even after drinking all of the wine in her glass.

"How is it?" Demyx asked as he passed by her, in high hopes for her praise.

"It's…it's….it's wonderful. Thank you." She lied again, this night is full of lies. Hurting his feelings about his terrible cooking skills wasn't something she wanted to do. Instead, she thought of another idea that may help him. "Would you like me to teach you how to cook a few things here and there?" She gave him a smile and hoped he'd agree. His cooking needed an S.O.S.

"No, I don't think he would." Axel bud in, forcing her head towards him with this hand.

"Now stop talking to these people!"

The rest of the Organization continued with their side conversations and chatter, not paying any attention to Tifa, except for Marluxia and Demyx. Axel hadn't even tried making conversation with his guest. Tifa didn't mind either, she liked it better when he didn't talk to her. He was too pissed at the way things were going so far.

"Time for desert!" Demyx called as he gathered the empty plates and cleared the table. He brought out several plates with strawberry cheesecake and set a plate before Tifa with a soft clunk. "I made this also."

Just what Tifa needed, a badly made desert. Marluxia cut a piece of her cheesecake with his fork and held it in front of Tifa's mouth. She began to lean forward to bite it, until Axel held her back. "She can feed herself, Marluxia!"

Not giving up, Marluxia fought to his defense. "You're not even talking to her! Besides, if she didn't me to 'feed' her, why do you think she was about to eat it?"

Axel was taken aback. He didn't know what to say, let alone give a good come back to make Marluxia stop flirting with Tifa.

"Listen, I think that you two are taking this a bit to far…" Tifa pushed Axel away from Marluxia, as he was coming in closer to him. Axel shot an angry glare.

"Let's not fight now." Tifa rolled her eyes at the foolishness and got up from her seat.

"I'll be back." Hastily, she made her way to find the bathroom. She needed to be away from the craziness for a while.

"Great dumb-ass you drove her away!!" Marluxia cried, making a face at Axel. Neither of the two wished to give up making contact with Tifa.

"Your stupid flowers did that, not me bitch." Axel turned away from his nemesis.

Marluxia said casually, "I'm going to go see if she needs any help in the bathroom" He was about to raise, when Axel pushed him down to the floor.

"No bitch, she doesn't need help from a girly man – I mean boy- with pink hair, one who possesses crappy plastic flowers!"

"My flowers aren't plastic crap, they're real!" Marluxia fought back, not liking Axel's remarks about his flowers, the things that meant almost everything to him. "At least I don't look like some freak with anger issues."

"What the hell…" Before any more of the bickering was heard, Tifa had already left the room and began combing the maze like castle to the bathroom. She didn't really need to go to the bathroom, any quiet room would do. Her heart felt broken, dysfunctional. Cloud was the only person who could have made her happy right now, she was very disappointed not to see him today, or for the past months or so.

There were endless doors in the various hallways. Which one to chose, she did not know. The first door to the right caught her attention first, she cracked it open a hair and peered inside.

Emptiness. Nothing. Next door.

Most of the rooms she had checked looked identical. Some had cleaning supplies, brooms, mops, and whatnot. Another door lead to a vast rose garden, one she assumed belonged to Marluxia. The last room she raked over had a bizarre and odd stench to it, it was too dark to make out any of the contents. On front of the door had a lousy made sign that said: "Axel's stuff. Don't touch!"

A delicate hand searched the wall on the side for a switch. Once she found one, the room illuminated brilliantly. Whirling around, a gasp escaped her mouth at what she saw: drugs

and alcoholic beverages in large sums scattered around.

_Axel's a drug dealer!_

-End Chapter-

I didn't want to over-do anything, but i really hope you all like it!! Roxas is being stupid lolz. hehe.

I promise you, this story will get better, something you won't expect lolz!! So, do you like it so far?! I think that Sora will have a lot of trouble with Kairi! Not to mention, he can't dance hehe. BTW, Cloud will appear in the story, but when the time is right. :D Please review, it encourages me to write more!!

Thanks

-Sora788


	7. Rejected

Hello! I am really sorry for the late, late update. I am going to do my best to update much sooner. The story will get a whole lot interesting in a next few chapters, so don't miss out on that! And also, I am using my improved writing style to continue you this, so I am going to revise/rewrite the previous chapters bit by bit so that they flow better. I have changed the name of Tommy to Denzel from FF:AC, which was originally my idea but I forget. Heh, stupid me. Well, I really hope that you like this chapter so far and please leave a review! Thanks!! XD

Reality Ain't Pretty, Sora!

Chapter 7

"Do you see this mess, Sora?!" His angry manager exclaimed madly as she eyed him suspiciously early morning the next day. Sora gazed at the vandalism, no it was more than vandalism, the whole comic book store was burnt down. The burnt ashes met Sora's nose, making him wince once or twice.

The store that had once stood happily with the rest of the market place, was no more. The walls and everything inside it was a black, charcoal color; degraded into nothingness. It was all his fault, if he had been watching it like he was suppose to, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"I didn't do it." Sora argued, not knowing what to think except for the fact that the only person who could've done this was Axel. He could've easily burnt the place down with his fire. He dug his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at the stunned 25 year old. "I'm fired aren't I?"

Shooting him a pissed look, she growled, "Ya think!? I don't understand how this could have happened!" She edged closer to her destroyed store, trying to see if anything survived. Facing Sora once more, she asked holding her palm out, "Can I have the keys please?"

_Damn. The keys probably melted in all that crap. _

A wave of panic rushed through Sora, he had left the keys on the countertop when he abandoned everything. No doubt their existence was no more. "You don't need them, the door that was there isn't there anymore. So, if you want to go in just walk through that space right there!" He took out his hand from a pocket and pointed at the place where the door used to be.

"Stop being smart with me, now give them to me!" Her voiced raised with every passing moment. Her stress level was getting higher. "You have them, don't you?"

"Um…"

"Sora!" She covered her eyes. "What did you do with them?"

"I left them on the counter…by accident." He lied in the end of his confession, trying to get some tension off of him. It wasn't really an accident, he just didn't give a damn and left the moment he got the chance to escape that day.

"Great. That's what happened. Someone came here and…and let hell loose!!" She came over to Sora, with eyes of the Devil. "You--"

"At least you have insurance!" His guilty expression couldn't have gotten any more guiltier than it already was.

"Just go…and yes you are fired!!"

With his head hung low, he quietly walked away from the shopping district, disappearing from view. The crowd that had formed around the former employee and manger had dispersed and scattered about in all directions.

He knew this could have been coming, yet he didn't know why he didn't try to prevent it all from happening. But how could he predict that Axel couldn't gone to this extent? No job meant no money and the money he had wasn't much and surely his parents wouldn't give him any just like that. The way he was, he knew that in his parent's eyes, he was just a big disappointment, a mistake.

Brushing the thought from his distressed mind, he pondered on what to do next. A whole new day awaited, he wanted to do something. But what? He passed through crowds of children as he walked along the sidewalk.

_Kairi. I'll talk to her, she always knows what to say. _

The auburn's image came into mind, her pretty face and enchanting smile. Her smile, that's one thing he couldn't forget ever. That smile of hers, it was engraved in his memory. No matter what happens, he'll always remember it.

He briskly walked in a steady pace, with his hands shoved in his pockets causing his baggy pants to drag down just a little bit more below his waistline, a bit of his boxers showed. The few spikes of his brunette hair swayed leisurely in front of his gloomy blue eyes.

The very familiar scent of the salty ocean water made him look up as he neared the docks, he halted to soak it in. The aroma of the waters from the sea reminded him of all the times he used to go there every night by himself when he was seven years old. The calm serenity from the clear, soothing waters always helped him clear his mind when his parents fought during the night. The endless hours of hearing his parents fighting with each other made him uncomfortable and uneasy.

He strayed from his path and walked slowly towards the shore line where the ocean looked tempting. The soft golden sand bore his imprints as he made his way slowly towards the tides. The city was left behind him as he neared closer to the wetter sand, kneeling down on both knees.

Removing one of his hands from his pockets, he dipped in into the cool water. A chill flowed through his hand, but it relaxed him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of the wet air, he pushed everything from out from his mind. A moment later, he opened his eyes again to be greeted by the small island in the distant. He remembered the island that he used to play on with his two best friends, Riku and Kairi, when they were younger.

Those days were gone now as time went by. The older they grew, the more they abandoned their little island. The corner of his mouth curled into a thin smile as he thought about the secret cave that he used to draw in with Kairi without Riku knowing what they were up to.

Something pestered him as he dropped the thought. A shaking sensation took over his body as he took his hand out from the water. His temporary smile changed into a frown as he felt the unfriendly urge in him coming again.

The ocean wasn't enough to calm his senses anymore after he met Axel that one day, the day he sought to the wrong person for help. Axel's solution to Sora's problems was to give him drugs, telling him that it would calm him down and make things better eventually. But he was wrong, his parents continued to fight and he wasn't feeling any better than before.

His free hand trembled in midair as he tried his best to stop himself from doing the bad habit that he was trying to stop and end forever.

It felt like he was choking as he did his best to resist from going into his pocket to take it out and smoke the cigarettes he had with him. This strange urge engulfed him as he fought it. But why was he fighting it? What purpose did he have to stop?

His finger trailed over the box of had in his pocket, ready to take one out. The lighter leaning against it. He shook his head slightly, trying to stop the compulsion.

"Sora?" A melodic voice said from behind him. He stopped dead, his breathing ceased at the sound of Kairi's voice. He didn't have to look back to know that the voice belonged to Kairi.

He twirled around to meet her friendly gaze upon him. She sat down on the warm sand next to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"Kairi," he began, trying to sound steady and did his best to hide his surprised expression, "what are you doing here?"

Kairi flashed him a smile, "I saw you sitting here so I wanted to come over. You looked alone here by yourself." She looked out into the ocean where the isolated island floated in the distance.

Sora followed her gaze and took another breath. The urge that consumed him had disintegrated after Kairi came to him. He wasn't going to smoke now, not in front of her and not when he wanted to stop.

"It's been awhile since we've been there," he stated referring to the island, trying to forget his troubles. "I wonder…"

"So much has changed, hasn't it?" Kairi asked with a hint of sadness. But what exactly did change?

Sora didn't say anything, but watched the small waves glistening in the bright sunlight as the rays reflected from them. A cool breeze weaved through his hair and brushed against his hot cheeks. Strands of Kairi's auburn hair swept across her face as she continued to look out into the sea.

This feels like the perfect moment to ask her, Sora thought as he admired the quietness and stillness of their surrounding. What would be a better time to ask than now?

"Kairi?" Sora said, hoping that all would go smooth when he was going to ask her what he wanted to for so long.

Without shifting her head, she said softly, "Yes Sora?"

After a second of hesitation he asked, "Do you remember the end of the school year dance?"

Chuckling a little, Kairi replied, "Of course I do. That's why I bought that dress, remember?"

"Yeah, well, so…I was hoping that you'd like to go with me?" The rhythmic hums of the ocean's waves were muted out as well as the rest of the world as he anxiously waited to hear her answer.

She turned to Sora, catching a glimpse of him as she moved a few locks of hair from her face and placed them behind her ear. Her smile became a little crocked as her eyes began to get softer. "Didn't Riku tell you?"

The whole world stopped spinning as Kairi mentioned Riku's name to him. "What? He didn't tell me what?"

"Oh, I thought you knew," she muttered regretfully. "Riku asked me last night so…I said yes. But, I'm sure he won't mind if we all go together?"

It was like a sharp thunder bolt struck him from the cloudless sky, or even a direct slap in the face.

_Riku…_

Sora tried to find a word that would describe the anger that raged through him all over, but wasn't sure there was even a word to explain anything. Betrayed? Hurt? Rejected?

How could his best friend betray him like this? Didn't he know how much Kairi meant to him? Of course he did.

His looked away from Kairi's apologetic face and peered down at the sand that scattered a little from the wind and had gathered against his shoes or the creases in his jeans. "No, that's alright."

--xxx--

"C'mon guys, hurry up! Let's start now before night falls!" Roxas exclaimed with great irritation as he pressed the white and black keys of his keyboard randomly. He had been waiting to start playing for at least half an hour now for everyone to arrive then get set up.

Kairi uncoiled the wire to her microphone and plugged the it into the stereo that sat next to her. She threw a firm smile at her hyper friend as she set the dials, "Patience Roxas, I'm as excited as you right now too!"

This was their first band rehearsal in Kairi's basement that day. Riku played a few chords of his guitar as he did his best to tune it. Sora sat depressed looking behind the drum set in front of him, twirling around on his stool. Naminé, another close friend of theirs who was asked to join them, happily stood next to Roxas as she shook the thin tambourine in her hand.

Kairi looked at everyone but Sora as she brought the microphone near her mouth. "You guys want to play that song…what's it called?"

"Passion by Hikari?" Riku asked in return as he silenced his guitar by placing his hand against the strings then looked keenly at Kairi.

Kairi nodded and smiled, "Yeah, that one!" She turned from Riku to Sora, then at Naminé and Roxas. "Ready?"

Riku started to play the first few notes of the well known song. Sora waited for his cue to start playing his drum part. Even though he knew the song, he didn't feel like playing right.

Purposefully, when it was Sora's time to join in, he clashed his drum sticks hard against the cymbals, creating a horrid, unpleasant sound that ruined the flow of the song.

Everyone stopped playing and turned to him, especially Kairi.

"Sorry, my bad," Sora apologized lamely, hoping to delay them again. "I am just a little out of practice is all." He sneered as he eyed Riku sternly, then Riku looked away. Of course he hadn't forgotten what Kairi told him earlier that day and he wasn't going to let it go.

"No problem," Riku spoke to Sora for the first time they gathered together here. Riku knew well that Sora was mad with him but he pretended that he had no idea whatsoever.

_You're the problem, jerk. _

The rest of the time, Sora played his part right and was up with the beat and tempo, well almost because his music talents weren't too good, but good enough. Roxas wasn't perfect at the keyboard and Naminé wasn't an expert at keeping a constant rhythm with everyone else either. Riku messed up a few times and Kairi forgot some of the lyrics here and there, but her voice was still lovely and angelic.

But then after a few minutes into the last ten minutes of practice, Sora loosed his grip on the sticks he played with. Then, targeting Riku, he let one of the sticks fly towards Riku and hit him on the back on his head.

"_Ouch!_ What the hell, Sora?" Riku turned to Sora, giving him an angry glare. He stopped playing and placed a hand on his head where Sora had struck him.

"Oh, my bad." Sora snickered once more at the fulfillment of his goal, but his grin faded away when he saw Kairi standing next to the traitor, asking him if he was alright.

A small, inaudible grunt escaped from Sora's dry lips. He fought the temptation to throw the other stick right into Riku's eyes this time. Getting up from his whirling stool, he walked over to Riku slowly and stood firmly by Kairi's side.

"Kairi? Are you and your friends done?" Kairi's mother's faint voice traveled to the basement as Kairi sighed.

"Yes, Mom, we are," she called back in reply to her mother who was talking to her from upstairs in the kitchen,

"Oh, good! I was starting to get a headache…"

Sighing again, Kairi faced the rest of her friends. "I guess we can practice some more another day?"

Roxas was he first to speak up, "Well duh. We suck…like a lot. Apparently no one has any musical talents here."

Riku forced a mocking chuckle, "Yeah, now we know who can't hold a pair of stupid sticks." He tossed a hot glare at Sora once more.

"Whatever." Sora leaned down to pick up the other wooden drum stick and held it with the other one in his hands.

Kairi let out a small involuntary gasp when she saw Sora's arm. "Sora! What happened to your arm?" She pointed at the small scars and scratches that were on his arm from the day before.

"Oh, those," Sora began, "It's nothing, I just fell in a bush." He covered his arm with his free hand and looked at Riku and Roxas, hoping that neither of them would tell why or where he got the sharp thorns stuck to him.

"Hmm," Kairi mused, looking away convinced.

He began to walk upstairs with everyone else following behind him. Riku growled at his friend and waited for Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé to get ahead of him.

"Bye guys!" Kairi looked after her friends as they filed out of her house. She looked up at the sky and saw the shining stars illuminate the cloudless sky. She waved at Roxas, Naminé, Riku, and Sora, but avoided direct eye contact with Sora when she bid her goodbyes.

Sora shoved his hands in his pockets again and walked closely by Riku when Kairi had closed the door. Roxas and Naminé had parted ways with each other as Sora and Riku walked the opposite way in the dark night. Sora was determined to follow close by Riku, making sure that he got the chance to talk.

"So, why didn't you tell me?" Sora spat out the question as soon as they were ear shot distance away from Kairi's home.

"Tell you what?" Riku muttered under his breath as he sighed annoyed into the night.

Sora hissed with rage and anger, "Why did you do it?"

Riku's thin lips formed into a thin, sly grin. "Oh _that_. You mean Kairi, right?"

Sora grunted for his answer and narrowed his eyes at Riku, even though he knew he couldn't see him in the darkness.

Riku continued, "I told you to ask her before someone else does, and well, you lost your chance. Great thing is, she said yes."

The joyful tone molested Sora viciously and even more when he saw how Riku was just fine with what he did. "How could you?"

"How could I not?" Riku glared at Sora secretly. "You're not the only one who likes Kairi, you know."

"Yeah, I can see that now." Sora remarked mockingly.

"Whatever, Sora. I am not going to talk to you about this now-"

"Why? Because you know what you did was shallow?"

"No, because I know that you'll never understand."

Crossing his arms against his chest, Sora balled his hands into fists. "You know what, you're a stupid piece of shit!"

Riku was silent, amused by Sora's outraged anger. The two walked through the light of the dim lamp post ahead, their shadows cast along the barren cement of the sidewalk as their strident footsteps echoed through the empty road . Shaking his head to the side, he remarked slyly, "Tsk, tsk. Cussing are we now, Sora? Kairi would never like someone like that."

A wave of frustration and wrath wiped over Sora. He tried hard to hold his tongue in place from uttering all the profanity he wanted to spit out so that he wouldn't let Riku have another chance to say anything else against him.

"You know, once you're gone-"

"Is this what this is all about?" Sora interrupted angrily, glaring at Riku with his furious eyes. "Once I leave, you think that this will be your chance to get what you want?"

Letting out an eerie laugh, Riku turned away from Sora's hurt face and parted ways from him, going deeper into another isolated street where it was much darker, not a single street light was in sight. "Well, we'll see, won't we Sora?"

Scowling, Sora frowned and looked down at the uneven paved asphalt of the road. The flickering light from the light post above his head shone dimly down on him, his long shadow was cast beside his body. Dark shadows were carved beneath his sullen eyes, covering them in darkness as he watched the last sight of Riku walking down the alley.

--xxx--

Sora's own house was dark as he approached the front steps. He peered into the side window as he neared the door, catching a glimpse of a light shining brightly through the curtains. Stepping quietly inside, he walked silently towards the only source of the light in the gloomy house.

Sitting on a vacant couch, was Sora's mother. The light illuminated the thick book she held in her hands as she flipped a page and had a sad look across her face. Sora hesitated for a moment before approaching her, wondering if he would disturb her.

After taking another step, his mother peered up. "Sora?" She beckoned for her son to come over and sit by her. Without refusing, Sora hastily plopped down onto an empty space by his mother.

He laid his head against his mother's comforting lap as she placed a soothing hand on his warm forehead. The low hum of crickets filled the room through the open window that allowed a fresh breeze to enter.

Sora was the first to speak, "Mom?" He shifted his cheek a little bit more onto his mother's lap as he spread his legs onto the sofa.

"Hmm?" His mother's soft hand gently ran through Sora's brunette hair as she took a breath of air.

"Are you going to miss me when I go?" His heartbeat slowed down, its pulse steering towards a steady beat.

"I miss you every time you're not with me, Sora. Of course I'll miss you, I will miss you more and more everyday when you're gone." She closed the front cover of her book and set it next to the side table beside the bottom of the elegant lamp.

"I will miss you too," was all Sora could manage to say for the moment. "Sometimes…I just feel…" He couldn't finish his sentence and his understanding mother didn't force him to say any more.

"Are you mad at me?" Sora asked after a moment of silence as he wondered what she thought about him going to a far away boarding school. He folded a hand underneath his head and exhaled slowly.

"Well, I'm definitely not happy, but…" His mother's tone seemed to darken just a bit, "But…maybe if it wasn't for your Dad, then maybe this might not have happened."

Sora winced at the words he just heard, he didn't want to hear them. His Dad wasn't, let's say the most 'responsible' father out there, but he certainly didn't act his part right. He came home late almost all the time, he himself drinks too, and not only that, but he doesn't seem to care too much for Sora either.

It was his Dad who told Sora to lie to people to get out of any trouble he was in, big or small. It was he who attributed to Sora's current personality, to lie, manipulate, cheat.

"Where is Dad anyways? Is he here?" Sora inquired as his mom's warm hand continued to run through his hair.

Grunting, she answered in an irritated tone, "He's coming home late again, as usual."

A stream of regret traveled down Sora's chest, wishing that he hadn't brought up his father when he knew that the two didn't like each other too much. "Oh…"

"You should get some sleep now," she suggested patting his shoulder softly. "It's getting quite late now."

Nodding, Sora lifted his head and leaned towards his Mom to give her a hug. He embraced her as she did the same, he rested his tired head on her shoulder for a moment. He breathe in the scent of her hair as he basked the warmth that he felt between his Mom. It had been awhile since he really talked to her or even gave her a simple hug.

Breaking away finally, she gave him a weary smile as Sora stood in front of her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Mom. Everything's fine." He returned her smile with a thin grin and turned away, walking up the stairs to his room.

No, everything was not fine.

A pair of gleaming white lights shone through the windows and cast onto the wooden floor beneath. The raucous noise of the engine cut off a second later, just as Sora reached the top stair. His father had come home, he shook his head a little and entered his cluttered room, leaving the door open just a hair.

Kneeling down, he peered through the thin slit from the door as he heard the click of the front lock unlock itself by the key from the other side. His father stepped in warily, as he took his coat off and hung it in the closet.

He vanished from sight as he headed towards the living room where his mother sat patiently. The muffled voices of both parents reached his ears as the two exchanged plain greetings. Sora strained his ears harder as he did his best to catch more of their conversation.

"…where were you….I was wondering….why didn't you…" The bits and pieces of the missing words from his mother left him blank as he pressed his body forward towards the door in his dark room.

"Why do you….I don't see why….I think you worry too much." In return, his father's voice was slightly louder than his mom's, enabling him to hear more clearly.

"Because this happens….I think that…." His mother sounded a bit more anxious now, he strained himself even more. Giving up, he slowly creaked the door open more and as quietly as he could, he walked out and sat down near the top stairs to hear more of his parents' argument.

Sora ceased his breathing as he heard his mother's next words. "You know what Sora asked me?"

"What?" His father replied with an uninterested tone.

"He asked if I was mad at him! And I think that I should be more mad at you than him!"

Sora slouched in his spot and bit his lower lips, almost making it bleed.

"Why is that?"

Sighing with frustration, she said, "You wanted to kick him out of the house! How could you think of doing such a thing!"

"It was a good solution I think."

Now Sora perched his head in his hands, almost covering his ears to block out the rest of the conversation.

The clashing of her hands banged against the kitchen counter, "No! No, it wasn't! And by the way, none of your other solutions work either."

Snorting, he remarked, "Yeah? Like what?"

"Here's some advice for you, get a better job. We are behind in everything. I even had to work overtime to make up for the money that you didn't make because-"

"Because what?"

"…Because you're always going to those god-forbidden--"

Sora was already in his room when he closed his door to knock out the bickering and the last few words of his mother's sentence. None of it made any sense to him at all and he didn't like it either. Making his way around the cluttered mess of his room, he climbed on his bed then opened the window and peered outside into the sky.

The distant clashing of waves calmed his senses down somewhat, but he was still upset and disappointed. He hadn't expected Riku to do such a thing and he couldn't believe that Kairi would say yes either. His parents arguments didn't make things better either.

"Sure, ok…so maybe it's not as big of a deal as I am making it…" Sora whispered to himself as he thought things through. "But I still don't understand it."

Once I'm gone, he thought, Riku will get what he wants and I can't do anything about it.

--xxx--

Kairi seemed a bit nervous after everyone left when she helped her mother with washing and drying the dishes. Perhaps I should have thought of a different approach, Kairi thought to herself as she set a plate on the side then picking up another one and passing the soapy sponge across it. She sighed as she remembered Sora's defeated face and the sorrow that he showed on the beach when she told him about Riku. But what could she do now?

"Kairi?"

She looked at the direction towards her mom when she called her name, breaking her thoughts. "Yes?"

Setting her cup of tea on the table she sat at, she said, "I don't think you and your friends should go to France like you wanted to in a few days."

Her heart sank as she listened reluctantly to her mother's words. "Why not?" She placed the second plate on top of the first on and reached for a glass from the pile in the sink.

"I think it's an unwise decision." She took a sip of her steaming tea as she looked at her daughter intently.

"No, it's not!" She exclaimed worriedly, "Sora, Riku and I already decided on going!"

"Wait, you're going with Sora and Riku?" Her mother set the cup firmly against the table now, looking aghast.

Kairi rinsed her soapy hands under the running cold water and wiped them dry with a paper towel. Taking a seat across from her mom, she sighed tiredly, "Yes, I am going with them. Who else?"

"You should go with Naminé and Olette, not Sora and Riku! I will not permit it! No, you're not going with them." The authority in her mother's identical blue eyes frightened Kairi slightly.

"Why not!? They're my friends and I wanted to go with them!" Kairi did her best to keep her tone respectful and not too demanding at the same time.

"They're guys! I will not allow my daughter to go across the sea with two guys by herself!" She leaned forward to her young daughter, making sure she was clear.

"But…but…," Kairi stuttered trying to find the right words to state her position.

"And why are you going there, may I ask?"

"I told you already, Mom!" Kairi whined, "I wanted to see if I can get a good singing job there. All the good artists and singers get famous in Europe, so what better place to go?"

Her mom grunted bitterly, "Why can't you do something here?"

"Because, Mom, Destiny Islands is too small of a place. No one here cares how talented you are, you can't get anywhere here!!" Kairi's voice raised just a hair.

"Singing isn't a good profession, Kairi. Why can't you forget about this silly trip to France and decide on a better career? What about becoming a doctor?" She took another sip of her tea and looked questioning at Kairi's unhappy look.

"I don't want to be a doctor," Kairi replied flatly as she crossed her arms around her chest. She leaned against the back of her chair and took a deep breath.

"What about a teacher?"

"No, I don't want to teach children all day, everyday."

"A guidance counselor?"

"I think I need one right now," Kairi remarked sarcastically, "I don't want to deal with everyone's problems."

"A fisherman?"

Kairi tilted her head, "What?! Ew, no! I am not going to do that and I'm not even a man! I think working with fish everyday wouldn't be something to look forward to."

"Oh, I know, you could own your own shop and sell things…like flowers and clothes and jewelry! How about that?" Her mom seemed to be delighted with her own idea.

"Selling things isn't my expertise. Besides, that's something you do already!" Kairi pointed out as she recalled that her mother owned her own store with knickknacks and such.

"Yes, you're right Kairi. But why can't you choose a steady job?" She placed a thoughtful hand underneath her chin. "Go to college and get a degree, then do something big!"

"Mom, can I just go and see if I get something there?" Kairi begged, hoping her mom would approve of the trip. "I really don't want to miss out on this."

"Well…I…Oh fine. You can go, but only if Naminé and Olette are with you."

"Huh? You mean I can't bring along Riku and Sora?" Kairi questioned, looking a little down and sad.

"No."

After a moments thought, Kairi said, "But if we go someplace far away, maybe having two guys would be a good thing. Three girls alone in a foreign place might not be a good idea."

"You're right," her mother said, Kairi smiled at her mother's comment but then frowned the next instant when her mom said, "That's why you shouldn't go at all and I can't come with you either."

Kairi wanted to bang her head against the table for having to say what she said. I should have kept my mouth shut, Kairi thought.

"But, we're not going to…you know, do anything with them, if that's what you're worried about," the auburn replied with hope. "They're our friends also. We were deciding on getting separate hotel rooms if that's what you're afraid of."

"How do you know they're not going to try anything on you?" Kairi's mom asked harshly.

"Because they're not like that!" Kairi exclaimed as she tried to defend her friends as much as she could without getting her temper up.

"Look at Riku! He's so tall and look at his hair! It's so long and have you seen his shirt? It shows part of his stomach," the older auburn remarked as she recalled the image of Riku in her house.

"Mom!" Kairi exclaimed again, tired with the conversation, "He can't help it if he's _tall_ and his pants are fine…And having long hair doesn't mean anything! His shirt is just his style."

"But I've heard that guys with long hair means that there's something wrong with them and that showing their _stomachs_ and having long hair means that they're gay!"

Kairi covered part of her face with a hand. "No, he's not gay. I don't know where you're getting these crazy ideas from, but they're not true."

"Have you've taken a proper look at Sora, my dear? He looks so sick!"

Kairi sat up straight in her chair and moved her hand on the table. "What do you mean he looks sick?"

"He has these bags under his eyes…and he just looks different. I don't know how to explain it, but there's something wrong with that boy. He looks ill. And he cuts himself too! The scars on his arms proves it otherwise, he's Emo!!"

"Being ill doesn't mean anything either," Kairi said softly as she tried to recall Sora's face that day, "And those scars aren't there from cutting, they're there because he fell in a couple of thorny bushes!"

"Bushes? What is he doing in bushes? Anyways, his hair does mean something. It's so spiky and weird. What kind of hair style is that? Is he in some kind of cult?" Kairi's mom set her cup of tea to the side now.

"His hair was always like that and he's not in any sort of cult!"

"I think his pants are too low also. Tell him that he needs a belt and that he shouldn't let his underwear be shown to the world," she said annoyingly.

"Oh, Mom…" Kairi hoisted herself up from her chair and stood behind it, pushing it in towards the table. "So can we go?"

"I'll have to think about it."

Walking over to the other side of the table, Kairi gave her mom a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Alright. Goodnight."

"Here, take my mug." She handed Kairi her empty tea cup and got up herself to leave the room. Kairi rinsed it and as she did, she wondered what her mom's answer would be.

Up from her bedroom, Kairi's paranoid mother bellowed, "Don't forget to tell Sora to put a belt on! Why do you think he had his pants so low? He wants to get you-"

"Mom!"

"And stay away from Riku, I think he's confused with his sexuality!"

Kairi grunted as she placed the tea cup in the cupboard. "Riku's not gay and Sora is not going to try to do anything to me!"

-End Chapter-

Well, how was it? Did you like it? Please tell me what you think in your review, and I'm really sorry for the late update!! I feel bad for Kairi because of her paranoid mom and whatnot. Poor girl...

Thanks,

-Sora788


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